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 1923
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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The downward movement of the birth-rate, dating back to the early eighties, is maintained. The decline in the birth-rate and fertility rate in London boroughs in relation to the reduction in infant mortality between the three-year periods 1911-13 and 1921-23 is shown in the appended table.
| Metropolitan Borough. | Birth-rate per 1,000 living. | Legitimate births per 100 married women aged 15—45. | Infant mortality (Deaths per 1,000 births). | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911-13. | 1921-23. | Decrease per cent. | 1911-13. | 1921-23. | Decrease per cent. | 1911-13 | 1921-23 | Decrease per cent. | |
| London, City of | |||||||||
| Shoreditch | |||||||||
| Bethnal Green | |||||||||
| Stepney | |||||||||
| Poplar | |||||||||
| Southwark | |||||||||
| Bermondsey | |||||||||
| Lambeth | |||||||||
| Battersea | |||||||||
| Wandsworth | |||||||||
| Camberwell | |||||||||
| Deptford | |||||||||
| Greenwich | |||||||||
| Lewisham | |||||||||
| Woolwich | |||||||||
The rates for the period 1921-23 are based, so far as the last year is concerned,
upon provisional figures, but the final figures since available do not cause any
significant alteration in the rates and percentages given in the table.
If the boroughs be grouped according to social condition as shown by the proportion of children of school age scheduled for attendance at elementary schools it is found that the decline in the birth-rate and infant mortality is greatest in those boroughs in which the proportion of children scheduled is highest, thus:
| Group. | Decrease in Birth-rate, per cent. | Decrease in Fertility, per cent. | Decrease in Infant Mortality, per cent |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. | |||
| II. | |||
| III. |
Deaths.
The birth-rate and infant mortality rate have been shown in earlier reports
to vary very closely with social condition, but the decrease in fertility in the third
group is relatively small, and suggests that in this case other considerations must
be taken into account.
Deaths in the civil population of London during 1923 numbered 51,991, the
death-rate being 11.4 per thousand. This is the lowest death-rate ever recorded in
London, the previous lowest being 12.5 in 1921. In 1922 the death-rate was 13.5.
The distribution of deaths by ages during 1923 is shown in the following table, with corresponding figures for post-war years:—
| Year. | 0— | 1— | 2— | 5— | 10— | 15— | 20— | 25— | 35— | 45— | 55— | 65 + | All ages. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
On comparing the two years of lowest mortality, 1921 and 1923, it will be seen
that the advantage of the latter year is greatest in the first two years of life, this being
largely due to the fact that the births in 1920 numbered over 120,000, resulting in
a corresponding increase in infant deaths in 1921, while, on the other hand, the
deaths in 1923 occurred among survivors of births numbering less than 95,000.
The greater number of deaths in the age-group 5 to 15 years in 1921 is accounted
for by the epidemic prevalence of scarlet fever and diphtheria in that year. In
other periods of life the figures for the two years do not show any noteworthy
divergence.