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

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Islington 1879

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington, Parish of St Mary]

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6
DEATHS.
In 1879 (the year consisting of 53 weeks) 5,321 deaths were
registered as having occurred in the parish. This gives 191 as the
death rate for the year, which is identical with the death rate of
the previous year, but if the mortality of the fifty-third week be
excluded from the calculation the death rate of the 52 weeks
would be 18.8. I would draw attention here to a marked
peculiarity in the death rate for 1879, viz., its extreme irregularity.
Thus, during the winter months, the severe weather and the
intensity of the London fogs proved exceptionally trying to the
very young and old; but so accurately was this unusual death rate
balanced by the exceptionally low death rates at certain other
periods of the year that, in taking the average of the whole, the
annual mortality was equalised.
Of the 5,321 deaths in 1879, 2,668 were males, and 2,653 were
females; 2,235 of the deaths occurred in the western district (of
which number 1,099 were males), and 3,086 in the eastern (1,569
being males).
MORTALITY AT DIFFERENT AGES.

In the following table I have arranged according to the ages the number of deaths that have taken place in Islington during the years 1876 to 1879:—

1870.1877.1878.1879.
Under 1 year old1,3971,3021,4531,340
From 1 to 2 years459500522565
,, 2 to 3 „199199225253
„ 3 to 4 ,,132131137138
„ 4 to 5 „778610590
„ 5 to 10 „141210196181
„ 10 to 15 „66777551
„ 15 to 20 „73649284
„ 20 to 40 „580563534588
„ 40 to 60 „705718762784
„ 60 to 80 „7788118731,015
„ 80 and upwards182177184229