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
London County Council 1914
Annual report of the Council, 1914 Vol. III public health...
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91
Report of the County Medical Officer—Education.
The following table gives the comparison with the corresponding percentages of the previous year:-
| Class I. % | Class II.% | Class III.% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8-9 | Boys, 1914 | 42.5 | 38 9 | 18.6 |
| Girls 1914 | 37.1 | 42.0 | 20.9 | |
| Leaver | Boys, 1914 | 54.3 | 24.8 | 20.9 |
| Girls, 1914 | 47.3 | 29.1 | 23.6 | |
In both years the double influence acting upon children's eyes during school life is seenfirstly,
the gradual education of the physical and mental powers, leading to an increase in the acuity of
vision and therefore to a larger percentage of children with normal vision at the older age; and, secondly,
the deterioration of vision in a minority of children, leading to the curious result that combined with
an increase in the number of children with normal vision at the older age there is also an increase in the
percentage with severe defect. The special incidence of defect upon girls and especially upon girls
of the older age as compared with boys is again to be observed. There can be little doubt that this is
due to some fault in the training of girls tending to deterioration of vision.
The better results of 1914 compared with 1913 are to be explained by the fact that a larger number
of children are now provided with glasses as a result of the larger facilities for treatment and better
following up.
During the first term of the year, when most of the leavers were examined, records were tabulated
of the visual acuity of all the cases in which the vision of either eye was 6/12 or worse and the result is
shown in the following table. The results of the vision tests of some 700 children in the schools for
mentally defective children during that term are also tabulated. From these tables it will be seen that
in about 70 per cent. of the children the vision of both eyes is the same.
Leavers in 1st Term.
Right Eye. Left Eye.
6 or 9 12 18 24 36 60 Worse than Total.
Boys 373 311 159 149 97 53 1,142
6 or 9
Girls 450 347 167 152 81 36 1,233
Boys 421 879 211 72 48 26 6 1,663
12
Girls 389 1,164 285 107 54 22 8 2,029
Boys 305 220 796 126 55 17 8 1,527
18
Girl 258 278 833 135 58 13 8 1,583
Boys 171 61 144 344 59 21 2 802
24
Girls 163 68 176 384 60 12 4 867
Boys 141 42 61 71 273 16 1 595
36
Girls 121 47 52 90 290 23 1 624
Boys 93 25 17 16 21 84 1 257
60
Girls 63 23 21 14 20 80 1 222
Boys Worse 39 10 2 3 7 2 6 69
than
Girls 60 32 6 6 4 4 4 14 70
Boys 1,170 1,610 1,532 791 612 263 77 6,055
Total
Girls 1,026 2,036 1,720 901 638 235 72 6,628
27715
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