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

Greenwich 1951

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Greenwich Borough]

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19
The 1949 Report of the Royal Commission on Population
indicated inter alia the trend during recent years towards an ageing
population and, as one would expect, the number of deaths in the
older groups increases at approximately a similar rate. Conversely,
the deaths in the lower age groups show a remarkable decline since
the beginning of the century.
It will be observed from the following table that during 1951
the deaths occurring at 65 years and upwards accounted for 63.1%
of the total compared with a figure of 22.8% for 1901.

Table: Deaths in the age group 0-5 years show an even more striking comparison: in 1901 the deaths in this group amounted to 37.4% whilst the figure for the current year is 3.5%.

Deaths in the age group 0-5 years show an even more striking comparison: in 1901 the deaths in this group amounted to 37.4% whilst the figure for the current year is 3.5%.

Age Group19011911192119311951
Under 1 year of age3623061759729
Between 1 and 5 years18715880397
Between 5 and 15 years6467582210
Between 15 and 25 years6660676512
Between 25 and 65 years454474466382311
65 years and over335356387529633
Totals1,4681,4211,2431,1341,002

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MATERNAL MORTALITY
During the year, the following 4 deaths were recorded as being
attributable to Puerperal causes:—
Age Cause
39 years Toxaemia.
41 ,, Ruptured ectopic pregnancy.
31 ,, Rupture of uterus during pregnancy.
37 ,, Attempted self-induced abortion.
Calculated on these deaths, the Maternal Mortality Rate was
2.88 per thousand total births.
There were no deaths from Puerperal sepsis or other causes
during the previous year, but one was registered during 1949 and
2 in 1948. The corresponding figures for 1947, 1946, 1945 and 1944
were 4, 2, 2 and 1 respectively.