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14
Heart and
anaemia.
Heart defect (functional or organic) was reported in 2,293 children in the
prescribed groups or 1.7 per cent., compared with 1.9 per cent. in 1934 and 2 per
cent. in 1930. As usual, older girls presented a percentage (2.0) in excess of older
boys (1.5).
In studies of rheumatism in the metropolis it is found that girls suffer to a greater
extent than boys in the proportion of about 3 to 2. It is reasonable to deduce that
the figures for heart defect reflect this excessive incidence of rheumatism in the
female sex.
Anaemia was recorded in 984 cases, or .7 per cent., a very great improvement
compared with 1.0 per cent. in 1934, 1.1 per cent. in the years 1931 and 1932, and
1.2 per cent. in 1930.
Lung defects.
As anaemia is associated with under-nutrition, this remarkable improvement in
the figures for 1935 is noteworthy.
Lung defects were noted in 2,808 children in the prescribed age groups (2.1 per
cent.), compared with 2.2 per cent. last year.
The bulk of the cases is provided by the entrants (3.4 per cent. boys and 3.3
per cent. girls). This is due largely to bronchial catarrh, which is especially
prevalent amongst entrant infants who present ricketv manifestations.
Tuberculosis.
There were 60 children in the three age groups reported to have symptoms
indicative of pulmonary tuberculosis, but only 8 of these were not already under
treatment. In addition, 18 children had other forms of tuberculosis. The incidence
of tuberculosis in any form found at routine inspections is .58 per thousand. For
many years the amount of tuberculosis amongst school children has been very small.
Nervous
diseases.
Epilepsy was noted in 28 cases, compared with 36 in 1934, 52 in 1932, 65 in
1931, and 73 in 1929 ; chorea in 104 cases, compared with 98 in 1934, 158 in 1932,
170 in 1931, and 178 in 1929 ; paralysis in 45 children, compared with 55 in 1934,
63 in 1932, 81 in 1931 and 122 in 1929.
Rickets.
Symptoms of rickets or the effects of early rickets were noted in 596 children
in the prescribed groups. This is .4 per cent., compared with ,.5 per cent. in 1934,
•3 per cent. in 1932, and .4 per cent. in 1931 and 1930. Infant boys had again, as
last year, an incidence of 1.0 per cent., compared with .7 per cent. in 1933, and
.9 per cent. in 1932, and infant girls .5 per cent., as last year, compared with .3 per
cent. in 1933, and .4 per cent. in 1932. The stigmata of early rickets tend to
disappear as growth proceeds. It appears therefore that there has been an increase
in rickets, which is a nutritional disease, amongst children below school age, affecting
those entering school in the vears 1934 and 1935.
Deformities,
Amongst deformities, spinal curvature accounted, in the prescribed age groups,
for 514 cases (.4 per cent.), the same proportion as last year. Of these 198 (.8 per
cent. of those examined) were among the 11-year-old girls, while the 11-year-old
boys showed .5 per cent. Other deformities, mainly flat foot, were present in 1,379
children (1.0 per cent.). This is the same percentage as in 1934.
The 8-year
group.
During 1935, the school medical staff were in the midst of the change-over from
inspection at 8 years to inspection at 7 years.
In 1934, 26,359 children aged 7 had been examined. The remainder of the
group were dealt with by preliminary inspection in 1935, followed by detailed
examination of those selected by the doctor at the preliminary inspections as
obviously requiring it.
The number of 8-year-old children in the elementary schools who came up for
preliminary inspection was 17,495, and of these 2,185 (12 • 5 per cent.) were submitted
to detailed inspection. In 75 per cent. a parent attended this detailed inspection.
The whole group of 17,495 children was tested for visual acuity. Of these,
1,426 children were referred for refraction, i.e., 8.2 per cent., while 4,958 (28.3 per
cent.) were referred for treatment for dental caries.
Special
examination.5
The number of children, not m the age groups for routme exammations, submitted
to the school doctors as special cases was 125,199, an increase of 33,319 over
that for the previous year, and this figure does not include another 21,713 who came
under inspection in the course of enquiries into outbreaks of infectious diseases.