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 1912
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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10
Annual Report of the London County Council, 1912.
Death-rates
all causes
The death-rate in successive periods has been as follows:—
| Period. | Death-rate (All Causes) per 1,000 persons living. | Period. | Death-rate (All Causes) per 1,000 persons living. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1841-1850 | 24.8 | 1903 | 15.4a |
| 1851-1860 | 23.7 | 1904 | 16.5a |
| 1861-1870 | 24.4 | 1905 | 15.6a |
| 1871-1880 | 22.5 | 1906 | 15.8a |
| 1881-1890 | 20.3 | 1907 | 15.3a |
| 1891-1900 | 19.2a | 1908 | 14.6a |
| 1901-1910 | 15.7a | 1909 | 15.0a |
| 1910 | 13.7a | ||
| 1901 | 17.2a | 1911 | 15.0a |
| 1902 | 17.4a | 1912 | 13.6a |
The death-rate in each year since 1840 in relation to the mean death-rate of the period
1841-1912 is shown in diagram (D)
The following table has been prepared for the purpose of comparing the death-rate of London with those of other English towns having populations which exceeded 200,000 persons at the census of 1911. The columns showing "death-rates corrected for age and sex distribution" have been obtained by multiplying the crude death-rates by the "factors for correction" published by the Registrar-General in the Annual Summary for 1912.
| Town. | Estimated Population (middle of 1912). | Crude death-rate per 1,000 persons living. | Death-rate per 1,000 persons living (corrected for age and sex distribution). | Comparative mortality figure. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907-11. | 1912. | 1907-11. | 1912. | 1912. | ||
| 13.29 | ||||||
| London | 4,519,754 | 14.72 | 13.56 | 14.72 | 13.56 | 1,042 |
| Liverpool | 762,021 | 19.40 | 18.14 | 20.03 | 18.73 | 1,440 |
| Manchester | 723,531 | 17.64 | 16.04 | 19.05 | 17.32 | 1,331 |
| Birmingham | 850,947 | 16.46 | 14.05 | 17.18 | 14.66 | 1,127 |
| Sheffield | 466,408 | 16.12 | 14.23 | 16.96 | 14.97 | 1,151 |
| Leeds | 447,746 | 15.96 | 14.17 | 16.91 | 15.01 | 1,154 |
| Bristol | 359,432 | 13.86 | 13.33 | 13.63 | 13.11 | 1,008 |
| West Ham | 291,900 | 15.30 | 14.14 | 15.70 | 14.51 | 1,115 |
| Bradford | 289,609 | 15.02 | 14.35 | 15.85 | 15.14 | 1,164 |
| Hull | 282,988 | 16.02 | 14.40 | 16.11 | 14.48 | 1,113 |
| Newcastle-on-Tyne | 269,196 | 16.14 | 14.17 | 16.99 | 14.92 | 1,147 |
| Nottingham | 262,574 | 16.18 | 14.43 | 16.33 | 14.56 | 1,119 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 237,159 | 18.66 | 15.83 | 19.90 | 16.88 | 1,297 |
| Portsmouth | 236,731 | 13.98 | 12.89 | 13.82 | 12.74 | 979 |
| Salford | 232,734 | 17.78 | 16.51 | 19.07 | 17.71 | 1,361 |
| Leicester | 229,294 | 13.44 | 13.38 | 13.82 | 13.76 | 1,058 |
Death-rates
in large
English
towns.
London had therefore (comparing the corrected death-rates) in the quinquennium 1907-11 a
lower death-rate than any of these towns except Bristol, Portsmouth, and Leicester, and was in ]912
lower than all except Bristol, and Portsmouth.
The following table enables comparison to be made of the crude death-rate of London with that of several foreign towns:—
| Town. | 1907-11. | 1912. | Town. | 1907-11. | 1912 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 14.7a | 13.6a | Stockholm | 14.7 | 14.2 |
| Greater London | 13.6 | 12.3 | St. Petersburg | 24.8 | 21.9 |
| Paris | 17.4 | 16.3 | Berlin | 15.5 | 14.4 |
| Brussels | 14.0 | 13.5 | Vienna | 16.9 | 15.4 |
| Amsterdam | 12.8 | 11.2 | New York | 16.4 | 14.1 |
| Copenhagen | 15.0 | 14.1 |
Death-rates
In foreign
towns.
It will be seen from the foregoing table that in the quinquennium 1907-11 the London death-rate
was exceeded by the death-rates of Paris, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Vienna, and New
York, and in 1912 was, in addition, exceeded by that of Stockholm.
(a) See footnote (c) page 4.