View report page

8.
DEATHS.
Deaths of Hampstead residents totalled 922, the lowest figure
since 1954. The death rate per 1000 of the population was 9.1,
the same as in 1954, and one must go back to 1910 to find a lower
rate (8.6).
The adjusted death rate, which allows for the age structure
of the population, was 10.1 and this figure is also low compared
with recent years. Rather unexpectedly deaths of persons under 25
years of age however were high in 1964 (54) compared with 1963 (41)
but as the Registrar General attributed the increase to "Other
defined and ill-defined diseases" no comment can be made on the
reasons for the increase. Deaths over 65 fell from 672 in 1963 to
619 in 1964.
Considering the total number of deaths was low, it is
significant the number of cancer deaths remained at the average
of the last few years, in fact deaths from cancer of the lungs
were the highest since 1960. Deaths from heart and circulatory
diseases, and diseases of the respiratory system, were low and
were mainly responsible for the drop in the total number of deaths.
The number of cases of suicide in 1964, 1963 and 1962 was
27, 28 and 26. This figure has indeed been fairly constant for
many years. It is pleasing to record that deaths from accidents
(23; including motor vehicle accidents, were the lowest since 1957.