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 1930
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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The following table shows the number of deaths and the death-rates in England and Wales. London, Kensington and the various districts in the borough in 1930, and the rates for the previous five years:—
| District. | 1930. | Death-rates in previous years. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of deaths. | Death-rate. | 1929. | 1928. | 1927. | 1926. | 1925. | |
| England and Wales | 455,397 | 11.4 | 13.4 | 11.7 | 12.3 | 11.6 | 12.2 |
| London | 51,184 | 11.4 | 13.8 | 11.6 | 11.9 | 11.4 | 11.7 |
| The Borough | 2,242 | 12.7 | 15.4 | 13.0 | 13.8 | 12.8 | 13.2 |
| North Kensington | 1,174 | 12.6 | 15.4 | 13.4 | 13.8 | 12.9 | 13.4 |
| South Kensington | 1,032 | 12.5 | 14.5 | 12.1 | 13.4 | 11.8 | 12.2 |
| Wards. | |||||||
| St. Charles | 309 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 12.0 | 12.9 | 10.7 | 13.7 |
| Golborne | 316 | 12.3 | 16.0 | 13.2 | 13.8 | 13.0 | 12.6 |
| Norland | 311 | 14.4 | 17.5 | 15.3 | 14.5 | 15.0 | 14.7 |
| Pembridge | 238 | 12.1 | 14.1 | 13.4 | 14.1 | 12.8 | 12.7 |
| Holland | 239 | 12.7 | 14.4 | 13.2 | 13.4 | 13.5 | 14.1 |
| Earl's Court | 266 | 15.0 | 15.9 | 13.5 | 13.7 | 13.1 | 13.8 |
| Queen's Gate | 153 | 11.2 | 12.7 | 10.0 | 13.2 | 8.5 | 9.4 |
| Redcliffe | 230 | 11.1 | 15.7 | 12.9 | 14.5 | 11.6 | 12.2 |
| Brompton | 144 | 11.4 | 12.5 | 9.5 | 11.3 | 11.5 | 10.1 |
| Ward Unknown | 36 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
From the above table, it will be seen that the 1930 death rates in England and Wales, London
and in the borough show a considerable decrease over the rates for the preceding year. The
following table shows the Kensington death-rates since 1896:—
Death-rate per
Period 1,000 living.
1896-1900 16.4
1901-1905 14.4
1906-1910 13.8
1911-1915 14.3
1916-1920 15.6
1921-1925 13.2
1926 12.8
1927 13.8
1928 13.0
1929 15.4
1930 12.7
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 for the year :—
| Cause of death. | Number of deaths. |
|---|---|
| Principal zymotic (or epidemic) diseases | 106 |
| Epidemic influenza | 31 |
| Phthisis | 140 |
| Other tuberculous diseases | |
| Cancer | 311 |
| Bronchitis | 103 |
| Pneumonia | 176 |
| Heart disease | 460 |
| Bright's disease | 76 |
| Puerperal fever | 6 |
| Premature birth | 34 |
| Accidents | 83 |
| Old age | 75 |
| All other causes | 616 |
| 2,242 |
It will be seen that over one-third of the deaths, or 879, were due to diseases of the heart
or the organs of respiration. Phthisis, an infectious or preventable disease, caused 140 deaths.