London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Greenwich 1962
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Greenwich Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
25
The first quarter of the current year produced 309% of the
year's total deaths whilst there was no variation between the 2nd
and 4th quarters, each aggregating 248%; as expected at 19.5%
the 3rd quarter yielded the least
It will be observed from the following table that during 1962
the deaths occurring at 65 years and upwards accounted for 68.0%
of the total compared with a figure of 228% for 1901
| Age Group | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1951 | 1961 | 1962 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year of age | 362 | 306 | 175 | 29 | 30 | ||
| Between 1 and 5 years | 187 | 158 | 80 | 39 | 2 | ||
| Between 5 and 15 years | 64 | 67 | 58 | 22 | 10 | 4 | |
| Between 15 and 25 years | 66 | 60 | 67 | 65 | 12 | ||
| Between 25 and 65 years | 454 | 474 | 466 | 382 | 311 | 252 | |
| 65 years and over | 335 | 356 | 387 | 529 | 633 | 631 | |
| Totals | 1,468 | 1,421 | 1,243 | 1,134 | 1,002 | 927 |
MATERNAL MORTALITY
There were no maternal deaths recorded during the current
year compared with one each for the years 1961 and 1960 with
their respective rates of 075 and 078 Both these deaths were
due to "self-induced" abortions
INFANTILE MORTALITY
Fifty years ago infant mortality in Greenwich was at the rate
of 108 per 1,000 live births, the actual number of children dying
before reaching the age of one year being 261 Comparable figures
for the current year are 3266 and 44 respectively
Bad housing, overcrowding, poor sanitation, low standards of
education, illegitimacy, all tend to produce higher infant mortality
rates It follows therefore that these rates should provide a
reasonably accurate indication of the social circumstances of any