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
Finsbury 1902
Report on the public health of 1902
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As regards age distribution of infants' deaths, as a general rule, it may be said that they diminish from the first month onwards to the twelfth. The following table gives the age incidence in Finsbury for 1902.
| Months. | 0— | 1- | 2— | 3— | 4- | 5- | 6- | 7— | 8- | 9— | 10— | 11— | Totals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Clerkenwell | 55 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 183 |
| South Clerkenwell | 44 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 152 | |
| Finsbury (St. Luke) | 64 | 21 | 13 | 21 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 217 |
| St. Sepulchre | 1 | ... | 1 | 1 | 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Totals | 164 | 52 | 36 | 52 | 28 | 33 | 42 | 27 | 35 | 30 | 27 | 32 | 558 |
Turning now to the causes of death in these infants, we find the record is as follows:—
| Causes of Death. | Diarrhoea. | Prematurity. | Malnutrition and Debility. | Bronchitis. | Pneumonia. | Convulsions. | Suffocated in Bed. | Measles. | Whooping Cough. | Accidents. | Tuberculosis. | Diphtheria. Erysipelas, Croup. | Miscellaneous. | Totals. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Clcrkcnwell | 9 | 31 | 27 | 20 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 44 | 183 |
| South Clerkenwell | 8 | 17 | 25 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 14 | I | 6 | ... | 34 | 152 |
| Finsbury (St. Luke) | 20 | 31 | 29 | 20 | 28 | 11 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 32 | 228 |
| St. Sepulchre | 2 | 1 | 1 | ... | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 6 | |||
| Totals, 1902 | 39 | 80 | 82 | 59 | 54 | 26 | 30 | 19 | 23 | 9 | 19 | 7 | 111 | 558 |
| Totals, 1901 | 81 | 59 | 99 | 57 | 22 | 25 | 20 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 55 | 461 |
Some of these figures are very striking. In 1901 there was
evidence of some decline in the number of deaths due to Epidemic
Diarrhœa. In 1902 this decline is still more marked. Further
reference is made to this subject on a later page. With this
exception there has been a rise in infant deaths. Particularly
marked has been the rise in Whooping Cough, Measles, Suffocation
in Bed, Pneumonia, and Prematurity. To the diseases named
reference is made elsewhere. As regards Suffocation in Bed I have