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 1910
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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25
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
The foregoing table shews that there is a marked difference in the mortality among children
under one year of age when the extreme groups of districts are compared. This agrees with the
figures in corresponding tables published in previous annual reports. If the figures for each of the
trimesters are considered in this connection, it will be seen that the same behaviour of the mortality
is observable.
This will be better appreciated by reference to the following table, in which the mortality of the group of districts of relatively highest "social condition " is taken as 100:—
| Number of group of boroughs in order of "social condition." | Comparative mortality—Group I. taken as 100. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children aged 0-3 months. | Children aged 3-6 months. | Children aged 6-9 months. | Children aged 9-12 months. | Children under 1 year. | ||||||
| 1905-9. | 1910. | 1905-9. | 1910. | 1905-9. | 1910. | 1905-9. | 1910. | 1903-9. | 1910. | |
| I. | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| II. | 112 | 114 | 113 | 132 | 122 | 143 | 129 | 148 | 116 | 125 |
| III. | 112 | 113 | 115 | 135 | 126 | 140 | 141 | 165 | 118 | 126 |
| IV. | 118 | 124 | 130 | 156 | 143 | 185 | 154 | 176 | 128 | 143 |
| V. | 121 | 130 | 147 | 193 | 163 | 192 | 185 | 209 | 140 | 157 |
Thus in each successive trimester of the first year of life the difference in the mortality
obtaining for the several groups of districts becomes generally more pronounced. The figures for
1910 are in general agreement with those for the period 1905-9.
Principal Epidemic Diseases.
The number of deaths in the Administrative County of London from the principal epidemic
diseases, viz., smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping-cough, typhus, enteric fever,
pyrexia (a) and diarrhoea during 1910 (52 weeks) was 5,559, giving an annual death-rate of 123 per 1,000
persons living.
The death-rates in successive periods have been as follows:—
| Period. | Death-rate per 1,000 persons living. | Period. | Death-rate per 1,000 persons living. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1841-1850 | 5.20 | 1902 | 2.22b |
| 1851-1860 | 5.13 | 1903 | 1.78b |
| 1861-1870 | 5.23 | 1904 | 2.18b |
| 1871-1880 | 3.86 | 1905 | 1.73b |
| 1881-1890 | 3.02 | 1906 | 1.99b |
| 1891-1900 | 2.666 | 1907 | 1.48b |
| 1901-1910 | 1.776 | 1908 | 1.43b |
| 1909 | 1.39b | ||
| 1901 | 2.236 | 1910 | 1.23b |
It will be seen from the following table that in the quinquennium 1905-9, London had a lower death -rate from these diseases than any of the undermentioned English towns, except Leeds, Bristol, Bradford and Newcastle-on-Tyne, and in 1910 had a lower death-rate than any, except Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham and Leicester.
| Town. | 1905-9. | 1910. | Town. | 1905-9. | 1910. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 1.60b | 1.23b | West Ham | 2.81 | 1.37 |
| Greater London | 1.54 | 1.03 | Bradford | 1.30 | 1.28 |
| Liverpool | 2.54 | 2.36 | Newcastle-on-Tyne | 1.55 | 1.25 |
| Mm Manchester | 2.24 | 1.81 | Hull | 2.13 | 1.78 |
| Birmingham | 2.17 | 1.21 | Nottingham | 1.93 | 1.01 |
| Leeds | 1.57 | 1.41 | Salford | 2.78 | 1.80 |
| Sheffield | 2.56 | 1.58 | Leicester | 1.62 | 0.75 |
| Bristol | 1.23 | 0.65 |
Epidemic
diseases in
large
English
towns.
(a) Origin uncertain. Originally described as simple continued fever,
(b) See footnote (c), page 8.
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