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 1931
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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The figures are as follows:—
| Group of boroughs | 1901-10 | 1926-30 | Increase ( +) or Decrease (—) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males | Females | Males | Females | Males | Females | |
| 1. Hampatead, Lewisham, Wandsworth | 36.9 | 33.7 | 34.3 | 47.2 | -2.6 | + 13.5 |
| 2. Bermondsey, Bethnal Green, Finsbury, Shoreditch, Stepney | 34.9 | 32.8 | 35.9 | 43.9 | + 1.0 | +11.1 |
If change of employment from domestic work to commercial or industrial occupations
or "industrialisation" were alone the cause of the increased mortality from
phthisis, the change should be far more conspicuous in the better class areas ; for
in these the occupation figures of the census years 1911 and 1921 show that, in
the ten years intervening between them, the proportion of young women of this age
engaged in domestic service decreased by nearly one-half, while in the poorer group
of the population the number employed in domestic service is comparatively
negligible in both censuses.
This will be seen from the following table:—
| Age period | Deaths in 1911 | Deaths in 1921 (on 1911 population) | Increase ( +) or Decrease (—) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulmonary tuberculosis | All other causes | Pulmonary tuberculosis | All other causes | Pulmonary tuberculosis | All other causes | |||
| No. | Per cent. | No. | Per cent. | |||||
| 10- | 71 | 348 | 64 | 338 | - 7 | - 9.9 | - 10 | - 2.9 |
| 15- | 169 | 343 | 253 | 328 | + 84 | + 49.7 | - 15 | — 4.4 |
| 20- | 240 | 404 | 315 | 369 | + 75 | + 31.2 | - 35 | - 8.7 |
| 25- | 277 | 496 | 289 | 471 | + 12 | + 4.3 | - 25 | - 5.0 |
| 30- | 275 | 580 | 238 | 512 | - 37 | — 13.5 | - 68 | —11.7 |
| 35- | 288 | 790 | 196 | 599 | - 92 | —31.9 | -191 | -24.2 |
| 40-45 | 272 | 1,014 | 172 | 751 | -100 | -36.8 | -263 | -25.9 |
It is clear from these figures that any increase in the death-rate from all causes
at the ages 15-25 must be almost entirely due to increase in the mortality from
pulmonary tuberculosis.