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 1934
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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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 158
Epidemic influenza 44
Phthisis 103
Other tuberculous diseases 15
Cancer 340
Bronchitis 54
Pneumonia 176
Heart disease 557
Acute and chronic nephritis 46
Puerperal fever 2
Premature birth 30
Violence (including suicide 43) 136
Old age 26
All other causes 690
2,377
It will be seen that over one-third of the deaths, or 890, were due to diseases of the heart or
the organs of respiration. Phthisis, an infectious and preventable disease, caused 103 deaths.
The diseases described in the above list as the "principal zymotic diseases" are smallpox,
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:—
| Deaths from principal zymotic diseases per 1,000 persons living. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Period. | Kensington. | London. |
| 1930 | 0.62 | 0.58 |
| 1931 | 0.34 | 0.33 |
| 1932 | 0.99 | 0.61 |
| 1933 | 0.49 | 0.32 |
| 1934 | 0.88 | 0.40 |
Cancer.—Cancer caused 340 deaths, and of this number 319 occurred in persons over the age
of 45 years. Carcinoma was the form of cancer to which 290 deaths were attributed; sarcoma
and epithelioma were the assigned causes of 14 deaths; 36 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, 1934.
| Parts affected. | Sex. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Male. | Female. | Total. | |
| Buccal cavity | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| Lungs | 18 | 11 | 29 |
| Digestive organs, peritoneum, etc. | 83 | 106 | 189 |
| Female genital organs | – | 29 | 29 |
| Male genito-urinary organs | 12 | – | 12 |
| Breast | - | 29 | 29 |
| Skin | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Other and unspecified organs | 10 | 28 | 38 |
| Totals | 133 | 207 | 340 |
The deaths in the several wards, etc., are set out in the following table:—
| The Borough | 340 |
| North Kensington | 149 |
| South Kensington | 191 |
| Wards. | |
| St. Charles | 37 |
| Golborne | 30 |
| Norland | 40 |
| Pembridge | 42 |
| Holland | 43 |
| Earl's Court | 46 |
| Queen's Gate | 30 |
| Redclilffe | 50 |
| Brompton | 20 |
| Ward unknown | 2 |
The number of deaths from this disease was 30 more than in the previous year.