London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Stepney 1901
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Stepney]
This page requires JavaScript
The deaths at the various ages were as follows:—
| Age. | Population. | Number of deaths. | Deaths per 1,000. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5 years of age | 39,804 | 2,673 | 67.1 |
| Between 5 and 15 years of age | 64,596 | 200 | 3.0 |
| „ 15 „ 25 | 88,402 | 222 | 2.5 |
| „ 25 „ 65 „ | 100,511 | 2,081 | 20.7 |
| Over 65 years of age | 5,287 | 1,041 | 196.8 |
The death rate is therefore high amongst children under
5 years of age, low between 5 and 15, and again very low
between 15 and 25. It is also low between 25 to 45 or 50, and
then gradually rises. The nearer the age to 25 the lower
will be the death rate; the higher the age approaches 65 the
higher will be the death rate, so that taking all the ages
between 25 and 65 it will approximate to the ordinary death
rate for all ages.
The death rate among persons above 65 years of age is
very high. This table shows that the larger the number of
people between the ages of 5 and 35 or 40 the lower will be
the death rate.
The following gives the percentage of people at the various ages:—
| Limehouse. | Mile End. | St. George's | Whitechapel. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5 years of age | 13.0 | 13.0 | 14.8 | 13.2 |
| Between 5 and 15 years of age | 22.2 | 21.5 | 22.6 | 21.0 |
| „ 15 „ 25 „ | 28.2 | 30.7 | 29.7 | 30.3 |
| 25 „ 45 „ | 24.5 | 23.0 | 22.7 | 25.0 |
| „ 45 ,, 65 ,, ,, | 10.5 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 9.3 |
| Over 65 years of age | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.2 |
Limehouse has the smallest percentage of its population
living between 15 and 25 years of age when the death rate is
at its lowest, and a higher percentage above 45 years of age
when the death rate is high.