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 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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9
The deaths among infants under one year of age in age groups from the causes
included in the above table are shown by sex and according to legitimacy in the following
table:–
Table 7–County of London–Infant mortality, 1937
| Cause of death | Age at death | Total | Rates perl,000 live births | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 day | 1 to 7 days | 1 to 4 weeks | 4 weeks to 3 months | 3 months to 6 months | 6 months to 9 months | 9 months to 1 year | Number | Males | Females | Males | Females | ||
| Measles | Leg. | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 2 | 3 | 3 | – | 11 | – |
| Illeg. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Whoopingcough | Leg. | – | 1 | 1 | 22 | 51 | 31 | 35 | 141 | 66 | 75 | 2.47 | 2.98 |
| Illeg. | – | – | – | ||||||||||
| Influenza | Leg. | – | – | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 21 | 9 | 12 | .34 | .48 |
| Illeg. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Tuberculosis | Leg. | – | – | – | – | 10 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 11 | 12 | .41 | .48 |
| Illeg. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | –_ | |||||
| Bronchitis | Leg. | – | – | 4 | 30 | 41 | 14 | 6 | 95 | 62 | 33 | 2.32 | 1.31 |
| Illeg. | – | – | – | ||||||||||
| Pneumonia | Leg. | – | 12 | 28 | 116 | 183 | 106 | 97 | 542 | 319 | 223 | 11.95 | 8.87 |
| Illeg. | – | 2 | |||||||||||
| Diarrhoea | Leg. | – | 1 | 12 | 107 | 201 | 160 | 64 | 545 | 337 | 208 | 12.62 | 8.27 |
| Illeg. | – | – | |||||||||||
| Premature birth | Leg. | 296 | 228 | 85 | 58 | 7 | 1 | – | 675 | 404 | 271 | 15.13 | 10.78 |
| Illeg. | – | – | – | ||||||||||
| Congenital defects | Leg. | 22 | 60 | 65 | 88 | 45 | 15 | 3 | 298 | 165 | 133 | 6.18 | 5.29 |
| Illeg. | – | – | |||||||||||
| Other causes | Leg. | 92 | 127 | 71 | 74 | 94 | 78 | 53 | 589 | 343 | 246 | 12.85 | 9.78 |
| Illeg. | 2 | ||||||||||||
| All Causes | Leg. M. | 246 | 238 | 155 | 323 | 375 | 227 | 155 | 2,932 | 1,719 | 1,213 | 64.39 | 48.24 |
| F. | 164 | 191 | 114 | 174 | 260 | 189 | 121 | ||||||
| Illeg. M. | |||||||||||||
| F. | |||||||||||||
| Total, 1937 | 494 | 470 | 297 | 585 | 722 | 450 | 291 | 3,309 | 1,948 | 1,361 | 68.71 | 51.05 | |
| Total, 1936 | 553 | 467 | 355 | 607 | 693 | 610 | 406 | 3,691 | 2,124 | 1,567 | 73.80 | 57.00 | |
| 1936 | Leg. M. | 278 | 266 | 190 | 322 | 366 | 301 | 206 | 3,331 | 1,929 | 1,402 | 70.97 | 54.05 |
| F. | 199 | 172 | 141 | 209 | 241 | 267 | 173 | ||||||
| Illeg. M. | |||||||||||||
| F. | |||||||||||||
Table 8, relating to the mortality among infants aged 1.2 years and 2.5 years,
appeared in the Annual Report of the Registrar.General for 1935 (statistical report,
text, p. 37). The figures for 1936 and 1937 have been added.
The Registrar.General observes that the "London mortality at 1.2 years
from all causes fell in 1935 to the lowest level yet recorded, 693 per 100,000 living,
and the rate at 2.5 years also fell to the record low level of 248, the previous lowest rate
being 415 in 1931. Whereas London death.rates at these two ages were 51 and 27
per cent, in excess of the national rates in 1934, they were 28 and 32 per cent.
respectively below the corresponding national rates in 1935 Measles,
whooping.cough, pneumonia, and diphtheria have been chiefly responsible for the
large fluctuations in mortality during the second year of life, and when these causes
together with influenza are omitted, the residual death.rates have followed a declining
course with relatively slight fluctuations."