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
Hampstead 1963
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hampstead Borough]
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11
IMFANT MORTALITY
Thirty children under one year of age died and of these
twenty-three died within the first week. The infant mortality
rate (deaths of infants under one year per 1,000 live births)
was 17.
DEATHS
The number of Hampstead residents who died during 1963 was
994, as compared with 1,050 during the previous year. This
gives a death rate of 10.1 per 1,000 of the population as compared
with 10.7 in 1962, but the adjusted death rate, which
takes account of the age structure of the population, is 11.2
as compared with the adjusted rate of 10.7 for 1962.
It is of interest to note the differences in the ages at
which death occurred, which have taken place in the past 50
years.
In 1913 the population numbered 86,346, and there were 951 deaths. In 1963 the population was 97,980 with 994 deaths, and these occurred at the following ages.
| Under 1 year | 1 - 4 | 5 - 14 | 15 - 24 | 25 - 44 | 45 - 64 | Over 65 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of deaths in 1913 | 91 | 58 | 23 | 37 | 118 | 265 | 359 |
| No. of deaths in 1963 | 30 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 55 | 226 | 672 |
It will be seen that there has been a very substantial
reduction in the deaths of infants under one year, that the
deaths of young people between the ages of one year and twentyfive
years is less than one tenth of those that occurred 50
years ago, and that the only increase is in the deaths of old
people. In fact of the 672 deaths in 1963 of persons over 65
years of age, no less than 453 were of people over the age of 75
years.
The individual causes of death are set out in detail in the
statistical section. There is little difference in the proportion
of deaths from any particular cause from previous years,
the most marked difference being in the smaller number of deaths
from cancer and other malignant diseases, the total from these
causes being the lowest since 1954.
In spite of the very severe weather during the first three