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populations, and the Registrar-General has supplied, for use in
Kensington, the figures of 0.72 for births and 1.03 for deaths. The
crude birth and death rates for the borough should be multiplied by
the appropriate factor, and when so adjusted the results are comparable
with the crude rates for England and Wales or with the corresponding
adjusted rates for any other area.
The following table gives the adjusted Kensington birth and
death rates compared with the rates for London and for England and
Wales for the year 1956
Kensington
adjusted
London
England and
Wales
No. of births per 1,000 population
11.9
15.9
15.7
No. of deaths per 1,000 population
10.8
11.7
11.7
Infant Death Rate. This rate for 1956 was 21.1, which was
a decrease from the rate for the previous year of 10.3. The rate for
the County of London was 21.0 and for England and Wales was 23.8. The
following table shows the rates for the last five years:-
Year Kensington London England & Wales
1956 21.1 21.0 23.8
1955 31.4 23.3 24.9
1954 22.5 21.0 25.5
1953 19.7 23.9 26.8
1952 27.0 23.1 27.6
It will be seen that the rate for Kensington has reverted to
a "normal figure" when compared with last year's infant death rate which
had increased to 31.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Maternal Death Rate. Five deaths of mothers due to childbirth
were recorded in 1956, giving a maternal death rate per 1,000 live and
still births of 1.76. (The maternal mortality rate for the County of
London was 0.51 and for England and Wales the figure was O.56.)
Infectious Diseases. There was no serious outbreak of
infectious disease in the borough during 1956. The total number of
notifications received was 1,331 in comparison with 2,322 in the previous
year. The decrease was almost entirely due to the decline in the
number of cases of measles notified - 358 in 1956 compared with 1,425
in 1955.
One case of diphtheria was notified in 1956 which compares
with two cases in the previous year. This case was of a boy admitted
to hospital as suffering from whooping cough but on routine swabbing
C. Diphtheriae (gravis type) was found. The patient was notified as
a diphtheria carrier, more or less on technical grounds. No other
cases were reported. The patient had in fact been immunised against
diphtheria about three years prior to his admission to hospital.
Tuberculosis. The death rate from all forms of tuberculosis
per 100,000 population was 11.8, which is a little higher than last year's
figure of 10.0. The 1956 Kensington death rate is slightly better than
the rate (l2.l) for England and Wales.
Lung Disease. Kensington's death rate from pulmonary
tuberculosis per 100,000 population increased in 1956 compared with the
previous year but the death rate for cancer of the lung remained more
or less stationary. Comparative figures for England and Wales showed
a decrease of the rate in respect of pulmonary tuberculosis but a
continuing increase in the death rate for lung cancer. The comparative
figures for England and Wales and Kensington are shown in the following