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 1931
[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 1931, and the rates for the previous five years:—
| District. | 1931. | Death rates in previous years. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of deaths. | Death rate. | 1930. | 1929. | 1928. | 1927. | 1926. | |
| England and Wales | 491,635 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 13.4 | 11.7 | 12.3 | 11.6 |
| London | 56,294 | 12.4 | 11.4 | 13.8 | 11.6 | 11.9 | 11.4 |
| The Borough | 2,455 | 14.0 | 12.7 | 15.4 | 13.0 | 13.8 | 12.8 |
| North Kensington | 1,293 | 13.8 | 12.6 | 15.4 | 13.4 | 13.8 | . 12.9 |
| South Kensington | 1,087 | 13.3 | 12.5 | 14.5 | 12.1 | 13.4 | 11.8 |
| Wards. | |||||||
| St. Charles | 330 | 12.5 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 12.0 | 12.9 | 10.7 |
| Golborne | 364 | 14.1 | 12.3 | 16.0 | 13.2 | 13.8 | 13.0 |
| Norland | 308 | 14.2 | 14.4 | 17.5 | 15.3 | 14.5 | 15.0 |
| Pembridge | 279 | 14.2 | 12.1 | 14.1 | 13.4 | 14.1 | 12.8 |
| Holland | 263 | 14.5 | 12.7 | 14.4 | 13.2 | 13.4 | 13.5 |
| Earl's Court | 248 | 14.1 | 15.0 | 15.9 | 13.5 | 13.7 | 13.1 |
| Queen's Gate | 145 | 10.8 | 11.2 | 12.7 | 10.0 | 13.2 | 8.5 |
| Redcliffe | 303 | 15.2 | 11.1 | 15.7 | 12.9 | 14.5 | 11.6 |
| Brompton | 140 | 11.2 | 11.4 | 12.5 | 9.5 | 11.3 | 11.5 |
| Ward Unknown | 75 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
The following table shows the 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 |
| 1921-1925 | 13.2 |
| 1926-1930 | 13.5 |
| 1931 | 14.0 |
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 for
the year :—
Cause of death. Number of deaths
Principal zymotic (or epidemic) diseases 59
Epidemic influenza 64
Phthisis 127
Other tuberculous diseases 21
Cancer 333
Bronchitis 136
Pneumonia 232
Heart disease 480
Bright's disease 76
Puerperal fever 7
Premature birth 41
Accidents 103
Old age 39
All other causes 737
2,455
It will be seen that over one.third of the deaths, or 975, were due to diseases of the heart
or the organs of respiration. Phthisis, an infectious and preventable disease, caused 127 deaths.