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
Deptford 1929
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Deptford, Metropolitan Borough of]
This page requires JavaScript
21
It is not sufficient to know that a certain number of babies died
during" the year from the foregoing causes. It is necessary to ascertain
how this compares with previous years, i.e., to ascertain whether the
raised death-rate affects particular age groups, if so, which, and in
respect of what diseases.
Mortality (Stated as Percentages) in Age-groups.
| Year. | Under 1 week | 1-2 weeks | 2-3 weeks | 3-4 weeks | Total under 4 weeks | 4 weeks to 3 mths. | 3-6 mths. | 6-9 mths. | 9-12 mths. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decennium | |||||||||
| 1915-1924 | 24.8 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 37.3 | 18.6 | 17.9 | 12.3 | 13.9 |
| 1925 | 30.5 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 41.6 | 16.4 | 8.9 | 14.5 | 18.6 |
| 1926 | 23.5 | 8.4 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 41.0 | 18.4 | 18.4 | 11.1 | 11.1 |
| 1927 | 29.7 | 7.3 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 44.2 | 18.9 | 14.4 | 11.7 | 10.8 |
| 1928 | 24.5 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 4.4 | 32.4 | 20.1 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 20.1 |
| 1929 | 26.9 | 8.5 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 38.9 | 18.4 | 13.5 | 16.4 | 12.8 |
Mortality (Stated as Percentages) from Certain
Defined Causes.
| Causes. | Under Four Weeks. | Nine to Twelve Months. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. 1915-24 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | Avg 1915-4 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1925 | |
| Measles | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1.2 | 28 | 25 | .. | 36 | .. |
| Whooping Cough | 0.8 | . . | . | 1.6 | 1.7 | 08 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 0.7 | |||
| Convulsions | 1.9 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 0.4 | .. | .. | .. | 2.2 | 1.4 |
| Bronchitis | 1.3 | .. | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 | .. | 0.6 | .. | 0.9 | .. | .. |
| Pneumonia, (all forms) | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.8 | .. | .. | .. | 5.0 | 8.3 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 5.7 | 6.4 |
| Diarrhoea & Enteritis | 0.5 | .. | 0.8 | 0.9 | .. | 0.7 | 2.2 | .. | 1.7 | .. | 2.2 | 2.8 |
| Injury at Birth | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 2.1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Congenital Malformations | 2.3 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 5.7 | 0.1 | .. | .. | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Atrophy, Debility and Marasmus | 5.8 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 8.1 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 0.2 | 0.6 | .. | .. | 0.7 | .. |
| Premature Birth | 17.1 | 15.0 | 21.0 | 15.3 | 15.8 | 20.5 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
Taking the two preceding tables in conjunction, what deductions
can be drawn ?
It will be first noted that, up to the year 1927 (during which period
the infantile mortality rate had been gradually falling), the main improvement
had been in the later months, the extent of this improvement
being sufficient to more than counterbalance the continued high rate in
the first four weeks of life. From 1928, when the infant death-rate
substantially increased, the increase was chiefly felt in the age-groups,