London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Heston and Isleworth 1954
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Heston and Isleworth]
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| No. of Stillbirths | Rate per 1,000 total births | |
|---|---|---|
| 1930-34 | 214 | 31.2 |
| 1935-39 | 224 | 29.4 |
| 1940-44 | 200 | 27.7 |
| 1945-49 | 198 | 23.8 |
| 1950 | 23 | 18.0 |
| 1951 | 25 | 20.4 |
| 1952 | 33 | 25.9 |
| 1953 | 24 | 18.6 |
| 1954 | 24 | 19.8 |
Deaths.— The deaths of residents of the Borough during 1954 were 1,018 (529 male, 489 female).
This represents a death rate for the Borough of 9.6 per 1,000 population. The deaths in any area are
iniluenced by the sex and age distribution of the population, and to permit .of a true comparison, the
Registrar-General calculates for each local sanitary authority area what is called an area comparability
factor. When this is applied to the above Borough rate, the result is 9.9 as compared with a death
rate of 11.3 per 1,000 population for England and Wales.
The Registrar-General has classified the deaths registered during the year, and the details are
given in Table II. In Table IV, the deaths occurring during the year have been classified on local
information. To help in classifying causes of death, the Registrar-General may obtain additional
information which is not available to the Medical Officer of Health. For these two reasons, discrepancies
may be noticed on comparing Tables II and IV. The cause of death was certified by the Coroner in
187 cases.
A progressive change is taking place in the percentage age distribution of deaths, and this is shown in the following table: —
| 1910-14 | 1945-49 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 21.8 | 5.3 | 2.15 | 2.16 | 3.03 |
| 1 -4 years | 8.4 | 0.8 | 0.74 | 0.09 | 0.67 |
| 5-14 years | 3.8 | 2.1 | 0.18 | 0.56 | 0.20 |
| 15-24 years | 3.7 | 2.1 | 0.84 | 0.47 | 0.88 |
| 25-64 years | 30.8 | 33.0 | 31.11 | 29.91 | 30.83 |
| 65 years and over | 31.5 | 56.7 | 64.48 | 66.79 | 64.39 |
The chief causes of death in males were heart and circulatory diseases (165), cancer (104),
bronchitis and pneumonia (55) and cerebral haemorrhage (53). In females, the chief causes of death
were heart and circulatory diseases (158), cancer (110), cerebral haemorrhage (69), and bronchitis and
pneumonia (38).
Cancer of the lung continues to take an increasing toll of life. The deaths of Borough residents from pulmonary tuberculosis and cancer of the lung during the last ten years are shown below
| Pulmonary Tuberculosis | Cancer of the Lung | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Male | Female | |
| 1945 | 26 | 17 | 19 | 6 |
| 1946 | 25 | 21 | 31 | 9 |
| 1947 | 26 | 21 | 13 | 9 |
| 1948 | 22 | 13 | 23 | 6 |
| 1949 | 22 | 10 | 35 | 6 |
| 1950 | 21 | 15 | 24 | 4 |
| 1951 | 18 | 8 | 34 | 4 |
| 1952 | 27 | 5 | ||
| 1953 | 9 | 1 | 41 | 6 |
| 1954 | 4 | 45 | 4 | |
| 185 | 118 | 292 | 59 | |
Cancer of the lung is now in males a greater killer than pulmonary tuberculosis and if the
reduction in tuberculosis deaths continues, the same may soon be true of females. The great difference
in the sex incidence of cancer of the lung is still unexplained. Nothing has occurred to refute the
evidence that tobacco smoking is a factor in the production of cancer of the lung, though the nature
of its influence has yet to be discovered. Attention is also being given to the possible influence ot
contamination of the air by the products of coal and oil combustion.
The Secretary of the Road Safety Committee informs me that during 1954 there were 549 road
accidents which resulted in 16 deaths, serious injury to 117 persons, and slight injury to 559 persons
The number of deaths from road traffic accidents and other accidents in Borough residents during the last ten years is shown opposite:—
b