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
London County Council 1894
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Phthisis.
The deaths from phthisis in 1894 belonging to London numbered 7,354. The death rates of this disease per 1,000 living in successive periods have been as follows—
| 1851-60 | 2.86 | 1891 | 2.00 |
| 1861-70 | 2.84 | 1892 | 1.88 |
| 1871-80 | 2.51 | 1893 | 1.90 |
| 1881-90 | 2.09 | 1894 | 1.69+ |
It will thus be seen that there has been a progressive decrease in the death rate from this
disease in recent years. It is, however, probable that part of this decrease is apparent only and due
to more accurate diagnosis.
The Registrar-General, in the annual summary relating to London for 1894, has distributed
the deaths from phthisis occurring in public institutions belonging to London, to the sanitary areas to
which they belong, and it is now therefore possible to compare the phthisis death rates of the various
sanitary districts of London.
The following table snows the number of deaths from pathisis, ana me death rate per 1,000 living in the various sanitary districts of London in 1894, and the accompanying chart exhibits graphically the distribution of the disease in that year—
| Sanitary district. | Deaths, 1894. | Death rate per 1,000 living, 1894. | Sanitary district. | Deaths, 1894. | Death rate per 1,000 living, 1894. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paddington | 154 | 1.3 | Bethnal-green | 238 | 1.8 |
| Kensington | 249 | 1.5 | Whitechapel | 193 | 2.6 |
| Hammersmith | 161 | 1.5 | St. George-in-the-East | 102 | 2.3 |
| Fulham | 160 | 1.4 | Limehouse | 136 | 2.4 |
| Chelsea | 159 | 1.6 | Mile-end Old-town | 197 | 1.8 |
| St. George, Hanover-sq. | 97 | 1.3 | Poplar | 282 | 1.7 |
| Westminster | 137 | 2.5 | St. Saviour, Southwark | 77 | 2.9 |
| St. James | 46 | 2.0 | St. George, Southwark | 165 | 2.8 |
| Marylebone | 274 | 2.0 | Newington | 231 | 2.0 |
| Hampstead | 71 | 0.9 | St. Olave | 32 | 2.5 |
| Pancras | 454 | 1.9 | Bermondsey | 188 | 2.2 |
| Islington | 502 | 1.5 | Rotherhithe | 66 | 1.6 |
| Stoke Newington | 42 | 1.2 | Lambeth | 447 | 1.6 |
| Hackney | 295 | 1.4 | Battersea | 219 | 1.4 |
| St. Giles | 119 | 3.1 | Wandsworth | 188 | 1.1 |
| St. Martin-in-the-Fields | 35 | 2.5 | Camberwell | 347 | 1.4 |
| Strand | 74 | 3.2 | Greenwich | 240 | 1.4 |
| Holborn | 77 | 2.4 | Lewisham | 110 | 1.1 |
| Clerkenwell | 151 | 2.3 | Woolwich | 82 | 1.9 |
| St. Luke | 116 | 2.8 | Lee | 42 | 1.1 |
| London, City of | 68 | 2.0 | Plumstead | 66 | 1.1 |
| Shoreditch | 265 | 2.2 |
From the above table it appears that the phthisis death rate exhibits considerable variations in
different districts, the death rate ranging from 0.9 in Hampstead to 3.2 in the Strand. In considering
these differences it should be recollected that the proportion of London residents who, when suffering
from phthisis, leave London to die elsewhere is not in all probability the same in each district, and
that this circumstance may affect the relative incidence of mortality in the several districts of
the country
The death rates in the various groups of London districts in 1894were as follows—
| West Group | 1.55 |
| North ,, | 1.60 |
| Central ,, | 2.58 |
| East „ | 2.00 |
| South „ | 1.54 |
It will thus be seen that the death-rates in the west, north and south groups were below the
death rate of London taken as a whole, while those of the central and east groups were above the
London death rate.
It is interesting to observe the relation existing between phthisis and "overcrowding." The
census of 1891 shows the number of persons occupying less than five rooms in the several sanitary districts,
and from the figures given it is possible to show the proportion of the population of each district
occupying tenements of one, two. three and four rooms, and in which there were more than two persons
to a room.* Employing the term "overcrowding" to represent such usage and grouping the various
districts in accordance with the proportion of " overcrowding " shown by the census figures of 1891,
it is found that the phthisis death rates in these groups increase with the increase of such "overcrowding."
It will be seen, moreover, from the following table that the death rates from "all causes"
and "all causes other than phthisis" behave in similar manner. It is not of course possible to say to
* These percentages are given in extensn in the annual report of the medical officer of health for 1892.
† See footnote (†), page 7.