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 1961
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Greenwich Borough]
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34
following table has again been included in order that the trend in
this Borough may be studied:—
DEATHS FROM CANCER OF LUNG (including Bronchogenic Carcinoma)
| Year | AGE GROUPS | Totals | Grand Total | Rate per 1,000 Pop. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 and under 45 yrs. | 45 and under 65 yrs. | 65 and under 75 yrs. | 75 and upwards | |||||||||
| M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | |||
| 1951 | 1 | — | 26 | 3 | 15 | — | 3 | 3 | 45 | 6 | 51 | 0.57 |
| 1952 | 2 | — | 15 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 4 | 31 | 0.34 |
| 1953 | 3 | — | 12 | 4 | 7 | — | 1 | — | 23 | 4 | 27 | 0.29 |
| 1954 | — | — | 21 | 3 | 13 | 5 | 5 | — | 39 | 8 | 47 | 0.52 |
| 1955 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 29 | 6 | 35 | 0.39 |
| 1956 | 1 | — | 29 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 8 | — | 54 | 4 | 58 | 0.65 |
| 1957 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 39 | 7 | 46 | 0.52 |
| 1958 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 5 | 9 | — | 4 | 2 | 36 | 8 | 44 | 0.49 |
| 1959 | — | 1 | 25 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 43 | 7 | 50 | 0.56 |
| 1960 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 3 | 19 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 53 | 10 | 63 | 0.71 |
| 10 yr. Average | 1.6 | 0.6 | 21.3 | 3.1 | 11.2 | 1.3 | 4.7 | 1.4 | 38.8 | 6.4 | 45.2 | 0.50 |
| - | - | - | ||||||||||
From the preceding table it can be seen that the age group
45 to 65 years continues to be the period of greatest mortality, and
deaths in this group consistently constitute over half the deaths
attributed to lung cancer. In fact, deaths in this group formed
64.6% of the total of all lung cancer deaths recorded for 1961. At
present the trends in Greenwich with regard to lung cancer closely
follow those discernable in the national figures. Since 1950 the
numbers dying from cancer of the lung in England and Wales has
almost doubled to the current figure of 22,798 giving a rate of 0.49
per thousand of the population. This compares with a rate of 0.67
for London and 0.56 for Greenwich.