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
Finsbury 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Finsbury Borough]
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7
Deaths.
The total number of deaths belonging to the Borough registered
during 1953 was 352, consisting of 184 males and 168 females, giving
a general death rate of 9.88 per thousand of the civilian population.
The corresponding rate in the Administrative County of London was
12.5 and of the total population of England and Wales was 11.4.
| 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 36,120 | 35,640 | 36,010 | 35,810 | 35,620 | 35,740 | 35,640 |
| Birth rate (per 1,000 population) | 22.2 | 18.9 | 18.6 | 17.3 | 17.9 | 19.1 | 18.9 |
| Death rate (do.) | 14.9 | 11.9 | 13.7 | 11.7 | 14.3 | 13.4 | 9.9 |
| Maternal mortality (per 1,000 live births) | 1.3 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Death rate, infants under 1 (do.) | 32.0 | 32.6 | 25.3 | 19.4 | 21.9 | 16.2 | 22.2 |
| Death rate of illegitimate infants under 1 (per 1,000 illegitimate live births) | 47.6 | 60.0 | 76.9 | 27.02 | 24.4 | 0.0 | 65.2 |
| Still-births (percentage of total births) | 1.6 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.2 |
| T.B. death rate per 1,000 inhabitants (all forms) | 1.25 | 0.72 | 0.56 | 0.39 | 0.59 | 0.61 | 0.31 |
| Illegitimate births | 42 | 50 | 52 | 37 | 41 | 41 | 46 |
Deaths in Age Groups.
It is possible this year owing to the publication of the Census
report to calculate the death rates in the several age groups. It is
seen from the table below that the death rates between the ages of
15 and 25, 45 and 65, and for females between 65 and 75 were higher
in Finsbury than those in England and Wales, whereas the opposite
relationship has held in all other age groups.
It may also be observed that the female rate for ages 65-74 is
above the male rate in Finsbury which is contrary to the recognized
feature of a higher male mortality at all ages. The death rate, therefore,
in this group should be watched carefully especially as 10 out of the
36 deaths were due to Bronchitis, to which cause attention will be
called in a later paragraph.