London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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London County Council 1934

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

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14
Defects of a more serious character (i.e., vision of 6-12 or worse in either eye)
occurred in 12.9 per cent. of 7-year-old boys and 12.4 per cent. of 7-year-old girls,
and in 16.1 per cent. of both 11-year-old boys and girls in 1934.
In 1933 more serious defects occurred in 14.7 per cent. boys and 14.4 per cent.
girls in the 8-year-old group and 17.7 per cent. boys and 17.4 per cent. girls in the
12-year-old group. This again shows steady improvement which has been going on
for several years—in 1925 the 8-year-old group showed 18.4 per cent. with serious
defects, in 1927 the percentage was 18, and in 1929 and 1931, 16.8 and 16.9 respectively;
the 12-year-old group in 1925 showed a percentage of 20.6, in 1927 it was
20.9, in 1929 this percentage was 19.3, and in 1931 it was 18.5. The improvement
is most marked among the older girls, and there is little doubt that the importance of
the early correction of visual defect is becoming more widely recognised among the
parents.
The lower proportion of 7-year-old boys and girls with serious defects suggests
that a saving in deterioration of vision will result through the earlier examination
now carried out.
The exact equality in 1934 of the sexes at eleven years in regard to more serious
defects is a noteworthy feature. Hitherto all examinations of the older children in
the schools have shown a preponderance of vision defects in girls over boys. The
figures this year suggest that the relative increase in girls takes place after eleven
years of age.
The decrease in the preponderance of visual defects amongst the older girls is a
testimony to the efficacy of the measures taken by the education authority to ensure
better lighting in the classrooms and to prohibit sewing by artificial light.
Enlarged
tonsils and
adenoid
growths.
In the statutory age groups 6,297 children were referred for some form of treatment
of enlarged tonsils or adenoid growths; this is 4.5 per cent. of the children
examined, compared with 4.1 per cent. in 1933, 6.6 per cent. in 1931, 6.7 per cent.
in 1930, and 7 per cent. in 1929. These nose and throat conditions are found chiefly
among the entrant group, many of the children in the older groups having already
been dealt with before their examination in those age groups. The percentages
requiring treatment for these conditions in the individual age groups in 1934 were:
entrant boys 7.8, girls 7.0; 7-year-old boys 4.0, girls 4.3; 11-year boys 1.3,
girls 1.8.
There has been a continued fall in recent years in the percentage of children
referred for treatment for enlarged tonsils and adenoid growths, the increase in
1934 being due to the alteration in the age of the children examined. The older
the children the fewer there are that suffer from ear, nose and throat defects.
The proportion of those recorded as having enlarged tonsils and adenoid
growths who were referred for treatment was 38 per cent., the same proportion as
in 1933, compared with 43 per cent. in 1932.
Of the 6,297 children referred for treatment for these defects, 4,252 were referred
for enlarged tonsils only, 507 for adenoids growths only, and 1,538 for both enlarged
tonsils and adenoid growths.
Otorrhœa
and hardness
of hearing.
Otorrhœa was noted in 1,187 children, or .9 per cent. of those examined, compared
with .8 per cent. in 1933 and in 1932, and with 1 per cent. in 1931 and 1930.
The highest proportion of these cases was found in the entrant group. In no year
prior to 1930 was the percentage of children with "running ears" less than one;
in 1927 the percentage was 1.3, and in 1913 it was over 2 per cent. The increase by
one in a thousand shown in 1934 is also due to the alteration in the age groups
examined, as this defect is most prevalent amongst entrant infants and diminishes
during school life year by year.
Hardness of hearing was found in 221 children, or only .2 per cent. of those
examined. This compares favourably with 383 in 1933, 453 in 1930, and 868 in 1927,
and again equals the best result yet obtained.