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2 REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH FOR 1958
the smaller number of cases of whooping cough. On the other hand
there was an increase in the number of cases of scarlet fever and
also an increase in the number of cases of tuberculosis to which I
make more reference later on. It is satisfactory to note that the
number of cases of food poisoning notified was reduced from 579
to 232 and I make some reference to this also a little later on in this
preamble. There were 20 confirmed cases of poliomyelitis as compared
with 71 in the previous year. The differences in the numbers of
other infectious diseases notified were not particularly noticeable.
I referred in my Report for 1955 to the increasing toll which
coronary arterial disease is taking, particularly in males, in what is
probably the most important economic and productive period of
life. The figures for 1958 are shown in Table III(a) and they indicate
that there were 650 deaths from coronary arterial disease, angina,
etc., compared with 598 in 1957. This, however, does not give the
full picture, for of the 650 deaths from this cause in 1958, 386 were in
men. In the age groups 15-45 and 45-65, the contrast between the
sexes is even more marked. For instance, in the age group 15-45,
15 males died compared with one female and in the age group
45-65, 142 males died compared with 29 females. The trend of
increasing deaths with a particularly heavy incidence in males in the
age groups 15-65 continues. It will be asked what, if anything, is
being done or can be done to prevent this destruction of the manpower
of the nation. More particularly, what can public health
departments, who are charged with safeguarding the health of the
community, do. Unfortunately, the answer must be that at the
present time there seems to be comparatively little that we can do.
There may well be social and environmental conditions at present
not known, which account for the high prevalence of deaths from
this disease at these age groups in men, but if so, they are not clearly
definable. A great deal of research the world over is being undertaken
into the problem and such factors as the effect of diet, exercise
and occupation have been carefully investigated without, so far, any
unqualified opinions emerging. For instance, investigations by biochemists
have suggested that one factor may be a disordered state
of the fatty constituents of the blood and other tissues arising
possibly from dietary factors. When large amounts of fatty food,
especially animal fats, are taken over many years, there is a suggestion
that this form of disease may arise although clear proof is
lacking. The investigations suggest that vegetable fats are probably
not harmful. The effect of exercise and the type of work in relation
to exercise has been looked into and it may be that people working in
active routine jobs are less likely to become victims than those
engaged in more sedentary occupations. These research findings at
the moment are little more than indications of the more definite
answers which eventually will emerge.
In the meantime, what can be done in the light of existing knowledge
to prevent this form of heart disease? So far, as I have said, no