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
Camberwell 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Camberwell.
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10
The percentage of employees who were sick once or more
during the year is shown, by similar age groups, in the following
Table B.
TABLE B
| Age group | No. of men employed | Percentage of men sick | Percentage not sick | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Once | Twice | Three times | Four times | Total | |||
| Years :— | |||||||
| Under 25 | 2 | 50 | – | 50 | – | 100 | – |
| 25 – 29 ... | 8 | – | – | 37.5 | – | 37.5 | 62.5 |
| 30 – 34 ... | 16 | 50 | – | – | – | 50 | 50 |
| 35 – 39 ... | 19 | 57.9 | 21.1 | – | – | 79 | 21 |
| 40 – 44 ... | 70 | 28.6 | 11.4 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 45.6 | 54.4 |
| 45 – 49 ... | 98 | 29.6 | 14.3 | 4.1 | — | 48 | 52 |
| 50 – 54 ... | 96 | 22.9 | 5.2 | 4.2 | – | 32.3 | 67.7 |
| 55 – 59 ... | 64 | 29.7 | 7.8 | 3.1 | – | 40.6 | 59.4 |
| 60 – 64 ... | 42 | 30.9 | 14.3 | 7.1 | 2.4 | 54.7 | 45.3 |
| 65 and over | 9 | 55.5 | – | 11.1 | – | 66.6 | 33.4 |
| All ages ... | 424 | 30.2 | 10.6 | 4 | 0.7 | 45.5 | 54.5 |
As one would expect, the highest rates of sickness are in
the age groups over 60 years, but it is perhaps rather surprising
that there should be such a sharp rise in the age group 35-39
years. It is not possible to suggest a reason for this rise, as the
rate is based on only one year's record and the number of
employees in this age group was rather low as compared with the
following age groups up to 60 years.
Similar figures have been prepared separately in respect
of men employed in sewers to see whether the nature of their
employment has any effect on the amount of illness. It is
interesting to note that the sickness rate and average length of
sickness among men employed in the sewers are lower than the
figures for the Council's permanent employees as a whole.
There is no indication, therefore, that employment in the sewers
tends to give rise to a greater risk of sickness. As the permanent
staff employed in sewers totalled only 23, figures for each age
group have not been prepared as the percentages in respect of
such low numbers might be misleading.
TABLE C (Sewermen)
| No. of men employed | Percentage sickness rate | Average number of days sickness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per man sick | Per man employed | ||
| 23 | 3.9 | 24.5 | 11.7 |