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9
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I have the honour to present my Annual Report for the year
1957 on the health of the Borough of Lambeth.
The vita] statistics for the year are satisfactory. For the
first time fora number of years the Registrar Genera]"s estimated
mid-year population has shown an increase. The death rate is
fractionally lower than last year and diseases of the heart and
circulation accounted for some 45% of the deaths. This is to be
expected in an ageing population but a disturbing factor is the
increase in number of persons, especially males in the 45 - 64 years
age group, who fall victims to coronary disease. These persons are
presumably at the stage of life when their accumulated experience
and skill s could be of great benefit to the community. Thecausation
of this disease is at present obscure but it appears to be associated
with stress, psychological rather than physical.
The increasing number of deaths from cancer may be to some
extent a reflection of the ageing population but evidence suggests
that the whole of this increase is not due to this factor. Cancer
of the lung and bronchus is now an important cause of death in
those under 60 years of age. Medical research suggests that heavy
cigarette smokers are more liable to lung cancer than non smokers.
It is also suggested that urbanisation may be a further factor.
For the second time in the history of the Borough there has
been no maternal death during the year.
Infantile mortality shows a slight increase on last year, and
is also above that forLondon as a whole and for England and Wales.
As a result of the operation of Section 11 of the Clean Air
Act 1956 the Council approved the creation of a smoke control area
and reference is made to this in the body of the report.
New legislation which came into force during theyear included
the Housing Act 1957 and the Rent Act, 1957, The former with the
exception of certain financial provisions, was an Act consolidating
previous legislation, whilst thelatter threw a deal of extra work
on the Department in connection with Certificates of Disrepair.