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
Kensington 1924
The annual report on the health of the Borough for the year1924
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Table showing Kensington death-rates since 1896:—
| Period. | Death-rate per 1,000 living. |
|---|---|
| 1896-1900 | 16.4 |
| 1901-1905 | 14.4 |
| 1906-1910 | 13.8 |
| 1911-1915 | 14.3 |
| 1916-1920 | 15.6 |
| 1921 | 13.8 |
| 1922 | 13.6 |
| 1923 | 12.3 |
| 1924 | 13.0 |
Causes of Death.—The following list shows certain causes of death which are important in themselves or from the fact that they contributed a considerable share to the total mortality tor the year:—
| Cause of Death. | Number of Deaths. |
|---|---|
| Principal Zymotic (or epidemic) Diseases | 143 |
| Epidemic Influenza | 67 |
| Puerperal Fever | 3 |
| Phthisis | 120 |
| Other Tuberculous Diseases | 29 |
| Cancer | 293 |
| Bronchitis | 213 |
| Pneumonia | 258 |
| Heart Diseases | 322 |
| Bright's Disease | 64 |
| Diseases and Accidents of Parturition | 2 |
| Premature Birth | 33 |
| Accidents | 64 |
| Old Age | 64 |
| All Other Causes | 657 |
| 2,332 |
It will be seen that more than one-third of the deaths, or 913, were due to diseases
of the heart or the organs of respiration. Phthisis, an infectious or preventable disease,
caused 120 deaths.
The diseases described in the above list as the " principal zymotic diseases are small-pox,
measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping-cough, enteric fever (including fever not otherwise
defined) and diarrhœa; together they were responsible for a very substantial number of deaths, the
causes of which are very largely preventable.
The following table shows the zymotic death rate tor London and Kensington in each of the last five year.
| Peroid | Deaths from Principal Zymotic Diseases per 1000 persons living. kensington. | londan |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 0.95 | 1.00 |
| 1921 | 1.02 | 0.98 |
| 1922 | 0.97 | 1.11 |
| 1923 | 0.9 | 0.60 |
| 1924 | 0.80 | 0.73 |
The higher rate in Kensington in 1924 results from the increase in the number of deaths
from measles.
| Four Weeks ending | Measles. | Scarlet Fever. | Whooping. Cough. | Diphtheria. | Influenza. | Phthisis. | Cancer. | Bronchitis. | Pneumonia. | Diarrhœa and Enteritis. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 26 | 10 | - | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 28 | 27 | 35 | 6 |
| February 23 | 14 | — | 5 | 3 | 28 | 16 | 18 | 40 | 43 | 2 |
| March 22 | 16 | — | 3 | 1 | 18 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 37 | 4 |
| April 19 | 21 | — | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 26 | 16 | 21 | 1 |
| May 17 | 10 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 7 | 19 | 16 | 20 | — |
| June 14 | 2 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 8 | 28 | 9 | 13 | 2 |
| July 12 | 2 | — | 1 | — | 1 | 10 | 25 | 10 | 8 | 2 |
| August 9 | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | 8 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 1 |
| Sept. 6 | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| October 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 21 | 4 | 11 | 2 |
| November 1 | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | 9 | 21 | 6 | 9 | 6 |
| 29 | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | 8 | 24 | 15 | 17 | — |
| Five weeks end ding January 3 | - | - | 6 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 29 | 22 | 32 | 2 |
| Totals | 75 | 1 | 20 | 15 | 67 | 120 | 293 | 213 | 258 | 29 |