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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Report of the Count;/ Medical Officcr—Education. 137
In the annual report for 1913 attention was drawn to the fact that the local authority for the
purposes of the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, on the advice of Dr. F. W. Mott, F.R.S., was endeavouring
to ascertain how far insanity in parents was responsible for the mental deficiency of the children in the
schools. This work was undertaken with a view to enabling a judgment to be formed regarding the
tendency of insane parents to beget congenital imbeciles, and it was stated that arrangements had
been made whereby the local authority notified the names and addresses of all persons admitted to asylums
who had children of school age, and the School Medical Officer furnished the authority with information
regarding such children. This arrangement was authorised for a period of six months, and in
view of the success attained it is being continued.
Insanity and
mental
defect.
During the year ended 31st December, 1914, twenty-one cases were notified by the education
authority to the local authority. Further cases had been examined but were not notified until the
present year. Dr. Shrubsall has analysed the data from the records of 150 children, who, by reason of
being idiots or imbeciles were unable to be educated in special schools, and whom it was proposed to
notify to the Asylums and Mental Deficiency Committee.
Mental
Deficiency
Act, 1913.
These data have been compared with those of defectives in the special schools, with epileptics, and with normal children as reported in the annual report for 1912.
| Type. | Number Observed. | Size of Fraternity. | Number dead when index child was aged 7. | Order of Birth. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idiots and Imbeciles | 150 | 5.97 | 1.7 | 3.76 |
| Mentally Defectives in Special Schools | 1,000 | 0.32 | 1.9 | 4.35 |
| Epileptics | 390 | 6.32 | — | 3.61 |
| Normals (Scholarship Candidates) | 1,000 | 4.79 | .5 | 2.87 |
The average number of defectives per family was l.25. The net size of the family will be noted
to be about the same for all grades of defectives.
The family history of the defectives revealed the following data:—
| Member of Family Allected. | Pathological Condition. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epilepsy. | Alcoholism. | Insanity. | Feeblemindedness. | |
| Brothers and Sisters | 6 | — | 1 | 20 |
| Fathers | 4 | 10 | 3 | 3 |
| Mothers | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Grandparents | 5 | 19 | 17 | 2 |
| Collaterals | 8 | — | 19 | 5 |
As might have been expected there is a considerable history of constitutional defects, the following percentages being recorded:—
| Marked Rickets | 12.0 Infantile Convulsions | 15.0 |
| Congenital Heart Disease | 3.0 Infantile Paralysis | 5.0 |
| Hutchinson's Teeth, Scars on Lips, etc. | 2.5 Spastic Paralysis | 9.0 |
| Squint | 3.0 Epilepsy | 22.0 |
| Notable Deafness | 3.0 | |
| The following numbers were noted in the 150 cases, some having two or more stigmata. | ||
| Cretinoid Development | 9 Broad Based Nose | 15 |
| Microcephalic | 11 Epicanthic Folds | 23 |
| Hydrocephalic | 3 Definite Mongolism | 19 |
| Marked Cranial Asymmetry | 7 High Arched Palate | 15 |
| Bossed Forehead | 5 Cleft Palate | 2 |
| Low Forehead | 4 Hare Lip | 1 |
| Narrow Forehead | 13 Webbed Toes | 1 |
| Depressed Nose | 5 Notable Deformity of Ears | 27 |
A history of miscarriages was obtained in 12 per cent, of the cases and premature birth in 5 per
cent, of cases; prolonged parturition in 9 per cent, of cases, while in 17 per cent, there was a history of
mental stress or physical disturbance in the mother during pregnancy.
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