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 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Greenwich Borough]
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18
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 1952
the deaths occurring at 65 years and upwards accounted for 63.5%
of the total compared with a figure of 22.8% for 1901.
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 2.3%.
| Age Group | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1952 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year of age | 362 | 306 | 175 | 97 | |
| Between 1 and 5 years | 187 | 158 | 80 | 39 | |
| Between 5 and 15 years | 64 | 67 | 58 | 22 | |
| Between 15 and 25 years | 66 | 60 | 67 | 65 | |
| Between 25 and 65 years | 454 | 474 | 466 | 382 | |
| 65 years and over | 335 | 356 | 387 | 529 | |
| Totals | 1,468 | 1,421 | 1,243 | 1,134 |
MATERNAL MORTALITY
During the year, the following 3 deaths were recorded as being attributable to Puerperal causes :—
| Age | Cause |
|---|---|
| 20 years | Acute cardiac dilatation following caesarian section for difficult labour. |
| Inversion of uterus and post partum haemorrhage. | |
| Ectopic tubal gestation—intraperitoneal haemorrhage. |
Calculated on these deaths, the Maternal Mortality Rate was
2.26 per thousand total births compared with 4 deaths and a rate
of 2.88 for the previous year.
No deaths from Puerperal causes were registered in 1950 and
the corresponding figures for 1949, 1948, 1947 and 1946 were 1, 2, 4
and 2 respectively.