London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1923
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
Table showing Kensington death-rates since 1896:—
| Period. | Death-reat per 1,000 living |
|---|---|
| 1896-1900 | 16.4 |
| 1901-1905 | 144 |
| 1906-1910 | 13.8 |
| 1911-1915 | 14.3 |
| 1916-1920 | 15.6 |
| 1921 | 13.8 |
| 1922 | 13.6 |
| 1923 | 12.3 |
| Cause of Death. | Number of Deaths. |
|---|---|
| Principal Zymotic (or epidemic) Diseases | 123 |
| Epidemic Influenza | 46 |
| Puerperal Fever | 7 |
| Phthisis | 117 |
| Other Tuberculous Diseases | 35 |
| Cancer | 269 |
| Bronchitis | 171 |
| Pneumonia | 217 |
| Heart Diseases | 292 |
| Bright's Disease | 50 |
| Diseases and Accidents of Parturition | 10 |
| Premature Birth | 29 |
| Accidents | 60 |
| Old Age | 79 |
| All Other Causes | 691 |
| 2,196 |
It will be seen that more than one-third of the deaths, or 797, were due to disease
of the heart or the organs of respiration. Phthisis, an infectious or preventable disease,
caused 117 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.
As the zymotic death rate is, with certain reservations, accepted as a test of the sanitary state
of the district in which it prevails, the following table showing the rates for London and Kensington
in the last four years will be of interest.
| Period. | Kensington. | London. |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 0.95 | |
| 1921 | 0.98 | |
| 1922 | 0.97 | |
| 1923 | 0.69 | 0.60 |
Table showing various Causes of Death in 1923, arranged in Four-Weekly Periods.
| Four Weeks ending | Measles. | Scarlet Fever. | Whooping. Cougb | Diphtheria | Influenza. | Phthisis. | Cancer. | Bronchitis. | Pneumonia. | Diarrhœaand Enteritis. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 27 | - | - | - | 2 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 3 |
| February 24 | — | — | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 23 | 10 | 21 | 2 |
| March 24 | -- | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 17 | 23 | 3 |
| April 21 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 11 | 24 | 5 |
| May 19 | 3 | — | 5 | - | 4 | 10 | 19 | 8 | 12 | 6 |
| June 16 | - | - | 3 | - | 3 | 12 | 19 | 12 | 12 | 3 |
| July 14 | 1 | -- | 1 | 2 | - | 10 | 19 | 8 | 8 | 1 |
| August 11 | — | — | 3 | - | 1 | 10 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| Sept. 8 | — | — | 2 | _- | — | 3 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| October 6 | 1 | — | - | 1 | 3 | 11 | 25 | 17 | 14 | |
| November 8 | — | — | - | 1 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 16 | 11 | 5 |
| December 1 | — | — | 2 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 19 | 24 | 7 | |
| ,, 29 | 8 | — | 1 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 28 | 28 | 2 |
| Totals | 15 | 2 | 28 | 14 | 46 | 117 | 269 | 171 | 217 | 67 |