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 1932
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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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 | |
| Epidemic influenza | |
| Phthisis | |
| Other tuberculous diseases | |
| Cancer | |
| Bronchitis | |
| Pneumonia | |
| Heart disease | |
| Bright's disease | |
| Puerperal fever | |
| Premature birth | |
| Violence (including suicide 46) | |
| Old age | |
| All other causes | |
It will be seen that over one-third of the deaths, or 942, were due to diseases of the heart
or the organs of respiration. Phthisis, an infectious and preventable disease, caused 107 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 diarrhoea.
The following table shows the zymotic death rate for Kensington and London in each of the last five years:—
| Deaths from principal zymotic diseases per 1,000 persons living. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Period. | Kensington | London. |
| 1928 | 0.64 | 0.69 |
| 1929 | 0.78 | 0.57 |
| 1930 | 0.62 | 0.58 |
| 1931 | 0.34 | 0.33 |
| 1932 | 0.99 | 0.61 |
Cancer.—Cancer caused 296 deaths, and of this number 269 occurred in persons over the
age of 45 years. Carcinoma was the form of cancer to which 254 deaths were attributed ; sarcoma
and epithelioma were the assigned causes of 13 deaths; 29 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 :—
| Farts affected. | Sex. | Total. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male. | Female. | ||||
| Buccal cavity | 7 | 4 | 11 | ||
| Lungs | 13 | 17 | 30 | ||
| Stomach, liver, etc. | 40 | 35 | 75 | ||
| Peritoneum, intestines, rectum | 43 | 81 | 74 | ||
| Female genital organs | ... | 17 | 17 | ||
| Male genito-urinary organs | 21 | ... | 21 | ||
| Breast | ... | 29 | 29 | ||
| Skin | 1 | ... | 1 | ||
| Other and unspecified organs | 25 | 13 | 38 | ||
| Totals | 150 | 146 | 296 | ||