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This number of deaths gives a crude death rate of 13.3, but this is not a figure which should be
compared with those for other districts, for it is necessary that the death rate should be corrected
for age and sex distribution.
The proportion of old people to young, and of males to females, varies considerably in different
districts. The mortality at the extremes of life is much greater than in the middle period, and at
all ages the mortality in females is rather less than in males of corresponding ages. A borough such
as Kensington, which has a large proportion of old people amongst its inhabitants, shows a crude
death rate which compares unfavourably with that of an industrial borough where the majority of the
population consists of young adults, although the conditions of life in the former may actually be very
much better than in the latter. Before the death rates of different districts can be compared so as to
be of any value in estimating the relative healthiness of the populations, the age and sex distribution
must be taken into account.
An adjusting factor, based on the age and sex distribution of the population, has been supplied
by the Registrar-General, and this, when applied to the Kensington death rate, gives a rate of 12.5,
which should be used When comparing the death rate of Kensington with those of other districts.