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 1936
[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 1936, and the rates for the previous five years:—
| District. | 1936 | Death rates in previous years. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of deaths. | Death rate. | 1935 | 1934 | 1933 | 1932 | 1931 | 1930 | |
| England and Wales | 495,764 | 121 | 11.7 | 11.8 | 12.3 | 12.0 | 12.3 | 11.4 |
| London | 51,142 | 12.5 | 11.4 | 11.9 | 12.2 | 12.3 | 12.4 | 11.4 |
| The Borough | 2,201 | 12.5 | 12.1 | 13.3 | 12.9 | 13.6 | 14.0 | 12.7 |
| North Kensington | 1,173 | 12.7 | 12.0 | 13.7 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 13.8 | 12.6 |
| South Kensington | 1,010 | 12.1 | 11.6 | 12.3 | 12.6 | 12.4 | 13.3 | 12.5 |
| Wards. | ||||||||
| St. Charles | 317 | 10.5 | 14.3 | 11.4 | 10.9 | 12.7 | 12.5 | 11.7 |
| Golborne | 323 | 14.8 | 13.7 | 16.4 | 13.9 | 16.2 | 14.1 | 12.3 |
| Norland | 294 | 14.1 | 11.9 | 13.9 | 14.1 | 14.1 | 14.2 | 14.4 |
| Pembridge | 239 | 12.1 | 12.5 | 13.8 | 13.1 | 12.4 | 14.2 | 12.1 |
| Holland | 231 | 12.5 | 12.3 | 14.2 | 13.3 | 13.4 | 14.5 | 12.7 |
| Earl's Court | 253 | 14.1 | 13.0 | 12.3 | 13.1 | 13.3 | 14.1 | 15.0 |
| Queen's Gate | 138 | 9.9 | 8.8 | 11.7 | 11.5 | 12.6 | 10.8 | 11.2 |
| Redcliffe | 279 | 13.2 | 12.5 | 11.7 | 12.7 | 11.8 | 15.2 | 11.1 |
| Brompton | 109 | 8.9 | 13.5 | 11.3 | 11.1 | 10.5 | 11.2 | 11.4 |
| Ward Unknown | 18 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
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 |
| 1911-1916 | 14.3 |
| 1916-1920 | 15.6 |
| 1921-1925 | 13.2 |
| 1926-1930 | 13.5 |
| 1931-1935 | 13.2 |
| 1936 | 12.5 |
The corrected death rate of 12.5 is not one which should be compared with those for other
districts, for it is necessary that the death rate should be adjusted 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 11.7,
which should be used when comparing the death rate of Kensington with that of other districts.