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
St Pancras 1930
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
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low a rate will be maintained, owing to the fact that during receht years the birth rate lias
decreased, the expectation of life has increased and there is now a greater proportion of the
population living in the later age periods, during which the death rate is higher.
In Table 1, on page 106, will be found details of the corresponding figures for previous
years.
The principal causes of death during the year are stated in the following table, and, for comparison, the figures and averages for the previous 10 years are also given:—
| Diseases. | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | Average for to years. | 1930 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heart Disease | 442 | 435 | 394 | 398 | 381 | 388 | 448 | 465 | 603 | 442 | ||
| Cancer | 299 | 290 | 302 | 319 | 298 | 324 | 301 | 292 | 321 | 297 | 304 | |
| Tuberculosis—all forms | 312 | 304 | 315 | 272 | 271 | 231 | 212 | 217 | 216 | 250 | 260 | |
| Injuries | 92 | 88 | 127 | 113 | 114 | 118 | 142 | 132 | 145 | 129 | 120 | |
| Pneumonia | 197 | 173 | 265 | 201 | 200 | 204 | 155 | 207 | 181 | 295 | 208 | |
| Bronchitis | 236 | 276 | 308 | 223 | 304 | 274 | 259 | 227 | 138 | 255 | 250 | |
| Cerebral Haemorrhage, Embolism, and Apoplexy | 98 | 126 | 120 | 112 | 118 | 123 | 110 | 92 | 67 | 78 | 104 | |
| Nephritis and Bright's Disease | 95 | 60 | 67 | 79 | 75 | 75 | 89 | 84 | 83 | 72 | 78 | |
| Congenital Debility, Malformation and Premature Birth | 182 | 137 | 126 | 119 | 105 | 94 | 100 | 69 | 86 | 85 | 111 | |
| Diarrhoea and Enteritis | 54 | 98 | 47 | 61 | 63 | 55 | 63 | 35 | 52 | 48 | 58 | |
| Diphtheria and Croup | 33 | 51 | 44 | 20 | 22 | 34 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 25 | |
| Measles | 23 | 107 | 5 | 74 | 3 | 65 | 5 | 127 | 7 | 48 | ||
| Rheumatic Fever | 16 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 18 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 7 | 11 | ||
| Influenza | 46 | 57 | 142 | 80 | 41 | 29 | 83 | 14 | 137 | 65 | ||
| Erysipelas | 3 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 7 | ||
| Scarlet Fever | 11 | 7 | 20 | 3 | 12 | - | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | |
| Pleurisy | 12 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 8 | |||
| Whooping Cough | 38 | 28 | 46 | 71 | 35 | 77 | 43 | |||||
| Enteric Fever | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Puerperal Fever | 8 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | — |
The Registrar-General's short list of deaths at different age periods is given in Table 2
on page 107, and, for the purpose of comparison, the death rates for England and AVales, the
County of London, the Metropolitan Boroughs, and certain of the large towns are given in
Table 4 on page 110.
It will be noted that 16 Metropolitan Boroughs had a lower and 12 a higher general
death rate than St. Pancras,
Of the total 2,478 St. Pancras deaths which occurred during the year, no less than
1,555 took place in public institutions; this equals a proportion of 6:3 per cent, of the total
deaths.