London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Paddington 1908

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington, Metropolitan Borough of]

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44 MORTALITY OF CHILDHOOD.
Mortality at ages one to five years.—In Table 9 the sex mortalities are given for the
combined age-group 1-5 years. Last year the rates for the whole Borough were 16.36 for
males and 12.95 for females, the quinquennial mean rates being 18.88 and 15.26 respectively.
On calculating the rates for each year, it is found that at ages of 1 and 2 years, last
year's rates were below the mean rates and those for ages 3 and 4 years, above.
(See below.)

Mortality rates per 1,000 persons.

Ages
1-2-3-4-5
190828.0511.3210.414.91
(1903-07)(1904-07)(1905-07)
Mean rates33.1313.237.694.72

The figures given in Table 31 help to explain the increased mortality at the older ages,
which was due, at ages 3-4 years, to increased mortality from measles, scarlet fever and
diphtheria, and, at ages 4-5 years, to increased mortality from the tuberculous diseases.
Those increases would be greater were the numbers of deaths during the past year increased
to compensate for the smaller numbers of the estimated living at each age. It has to be
remembered that with such small numbers of living, very slight increases in the numbers of
deaths make considerable variations in the mortality. Further, such diseases as measles and
whooping cough are so peculiarly special to the ages now dealt with that the epidemicity or
otherwise of those diseases, which occurs with almost uniform regularity each alternate year,
gives rise to wide fluctuations in the mortality of each successive year. A long series of
years is requisite to yield averages suitable for the study of the mortality at these ages.

TABLE 31.

Ages (Years).
1-2-3-4-5
1908.Averages 1903-07.1908.Averages 1903-07.1908.Averages 1904-07.1908.Averages 1905-07.
Smallpox-----0--
Measles1915184322
Scarlet Fever122262-1
Whooping Cough3121523-1
Diphtheria322352-2
Diarrhœa911-210--
Influenza-121---0
Syphilis---0----
Rickets13------
Tuberculous Diseases78553362
Congenital Malformations-0------
Convulsions232110--
Respiratory Diseases2529116-322
Dentition2220----
Gastro-Enteritis11--10-0
Accident, Violence21223332
Atrophy, Debility11-0----
Other Causes48243312
All Causes8099323929221414
Estimated Living2,8522,9922,8252,9122,7842,8952,8502,880