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
Islington 1958
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington Borough]
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12
COMMENTS ON VITAL STATISTICS
Births.
The trend to an increase in the birth-rate which has been commented upon
during the past few years continued in 1958 The total number of births ascribed
to the Borough, 4,592, was a slight increase over the previous year, but allowing
also for the Registrar General's reduced estimate of population there was an
increase in the birth-rate to 20.3 This is the highest rate since 1947 when the
figure was 23 55 per thousand population 10.76 per cent. of all 1958 births were
classified as illegitimate.
population.
In view of the interest in the post-war "bulge" the following table (extracted from the Registrar General's Returns) gives the estimated number of children under the age of 15 years in the County of London and in Islington:-
| Under 1 year | 1-4 | Total under 5 | 5 - 14 | Total under 15 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Admin. County | 52,100 | 179,300 | 231,400 | 417,500 | 648,900 |
| Islington | 4,400 | 13,900 | 18,300 | 30,100 | 48,400 |
Deaths.
The death-rate of 11.49 per thousand population was a little higher than in
1957 (10 79) There were relatively small increases in a number of causes of death
but the groups where the major increase in numbers of deaths occurred were due to
some failure related to the blood circulatory system, comprising vascular lesions
of the nervous system, coronary disease and angina, other heart and circulatory
disease Deaths from respiratory trouble, i.e pneumonia and bronchitis being the
principal groups, were almost the same as in the previous year.
Seasonal influences on deaths doe to respiratory diseases
It is a matter of common knowledge that coughs and colds bronchitis, etc.
increase in the winter months. The effect of seasonal influences on deaths due to
this group (i.e. influenza, pneumonia and bronchitis) at the. various age groups is
shown in the following table:-