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 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.
The following table shows the zymotic death rate for Kensington and London in each of the last five years.
| Period. | Deaths from principal zymotic diseases per 1,000 persons living. | |
|---|---|---|
| Kensington. | London. | |
| 1926 | 0.61 | 0.63 |
| 1927 | 0.36 | 0.41 |
| 1928 | 0.64 | 0.69 |
| 1929 | 0.78 | 0.57 |
| 1930 | 0.62 | 0.58 |
Cancer.— Cancer caused 311 deaths, and of this number 281 occurred in persons over the
age of 45 years. Carcinoma was the form of cancer to which 264 deaths were attributed ; sarcoma
and epithelioma were the assigned causes of 14 deaths; 33 deaths were certified as due to cancer
or malignant disease without further definition.
The parts of the body which were affected in each case are shown in the following table:- DEATHS FROM CANCER, 1930.
| Parts affected. | Sex. | Total. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male. | Female. | ||||
| Buccal cavity | 4 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Lungs | 10 | 4 | 14 | ||
| Stomach, liver, etc. | 65 | 54 | 119 | ||
| Peritoneum, intestines, rectum | 25 | 43 | 68 | ||
| Female genital organs | ... | 46 | 46 | ||
| Breast | ••• | 36 | 36 | ||
| Skin | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Other and unspecified organs | 10 | 10 | 20 | ||
| Totals | 116 | 195 | 311 | ||
The deaths in the several wards, etc., are set out in the following table:-
| The Borough | 311 |
| North Kensington | 137 |
| South Kensington | 165 |
| Wards. | |
| St. Charles | 40 |
| Golborne | 36 |
| Norland | 37 |
| Pembridge | 24 |
| Holland | 32 |
| Earl's Court | 49 |
| Queen's Gate | 24 |
| Redcliffe | 32 |
| Brompton | |
| Ward unknown | 9 |
The number of deaths from this disease was 29 more than in the previous year.
Heart Disease.—Heart disease is still the commonest cause of death, and last year 460 persons
died from this complaint, this number being 19 fewer than the figure for 1929.
It has been estimated that probably about half the deaths from heart disease result from
rheumatic fever contracted in the early years of life. This malady, which is common in children,
has a great tendency to damage the valves of the heart and thus to handicap the patient throughout
life, in addition to causing death from heart disease at a comparatively early age.
It is with a view to reducing the large amount of heart disease and the invalidity following
rheumatic fever and to preventing many of the deaths from heart disease following rheumatic
fever that the Council have established their Rheumatism Supervisory Centre at the Princess
Louise Kensington Hospital for Children.