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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TABLE IV.—A Comparison of Deaths from Various Causes Registered during the 2 weeks following the ' Smog ' with a 13 week Control Period in 1951.
| Cause of Death | Period | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week Ended 13.12.52 | Week Ended 20.12.52 | Control Period of 13 weeks 1.11.51 to 31.1.52 | ||||
| Respiratory | 7 ( 2) | 1 (—) | 18 ( 8) | |||
| Tuberculosis | ||||||
| Lung Cancer | 6 ( 1) | — (—) | 20 (13) | |||
| Vascular Lesions of | 8 ( 5) | 8 ( 3) | 53 (26) | |||
| Nervous System | ||||||
| Coronary Disease | 11 ( 9) | 31 (20) | 2 ( 1) | 18 (13) | 37 (24) | 137 (81) |
| Hypertension | 5 ( 1) | 4 ( 2) | 16 ( 5) | |||
| Other Heart | 10 ( 7) | 10 ( 9) | 46 (39) | |||
| Diseases | ||||||
| Other Circulatory | 5 ( 3) | 2 ( 1) | 38 (13) | |||
| Diseases | ||||||
| Influenza | — (—) | 20 (16) | —(—) | 21 (14) | 1 ( 1) | 55 (36) |
| Pneumonia | 6 ( 3) | 5 ( 4) | 25 (16) | |||
| Bronchitis | 12 (12) | 14 ( 9) | 24 (17) | |||
| Other Respiratory | 2 ( 1) | 2 ( 1) | 5 ( 2) | |||
| Diseases | ||||||
| 72 (44) | 48 (30) | |||||
| Totals | 120 (74) | 283 (164) | ||||
| Weekly Average | 60 (37) | 21.7 (12.6) | ||||
From the above table the following features may be observed :—
(1) That the weekly deaths for the 2 weeks ended 20th
December averaged 60, while the figure for the control
period was only 21.7, i.e., an increase of just under 300%.
Slightly more than a threefold increase is shown in respect
of Borough residents.
(2) That 31 persons suffering with circulatory disabilities died
in the first full week compared with 18 in the second week
following the fog.
(3) That while 20 deaths from respiratory causes were
registered during week ended 13th December, the figure for
the following week was 21.