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14
Although the number of epileptics and paralytics increased in 1937, the number
of children found with chorea fell considerably; this may be connected with the
general measures now taken to combat rheumatic disease, and may be compared
with the general reduction in the proportion of children found suffering from heart
disease.
Rickets
Signs of rickets or the effects of early rickets were noted in 601 children in the
prescribed groups. This is .5 per cent., the same percentage as in 1936, compared with
.4 in 1935, .5 in 1934, .3 in 1932, and .4 per cent. in 1931 and 1930. Infant boys
had an incidence of 1.0 per cent., compared with 1.1 in 1936, 1.0 in 1935 and 1934,
.7 in 1933, and .9 per cent. in 1932, and infant girls .5 per cent., as in 1936 and
1935, compared with .3 in 1933, and .4 per cent. in 1932. The stigmata of early
rickets tend to disappear as growth proceeds, and only .2 per cent. of the
11.year.old group are noted with remains of the disease.
Deformities
Among deformities, spinal curvature accounted, in the prescribed age groups,
for 371 children, or .3 per cent. as in 1936, compared with .4 per cent. in 1935. Of
these, 147 were among the 11.year.old girls, and 96 among the 11.year.old boys.
Other deformities, mainly flat foot, were present in 1,132 children (.9 per cent.,
the same as in 1936, compared with 1.0 in 1935 and 1934).
The health
of the
leaving child
The results of the examination which takes place in the term prior to that in
which the children are due to leave school are available at the school.leaving conference,
and are of assistance in determining the choice of a suitable occupation.
Coming at the end of the school career, the examination is useful in estimating the
results of medical attent ion received since the children entered school.
This year's "leaver" group comprised 24,029 boys and 24,195 girls. In nutrition
they were found to be better than the younger groups, only 4.2 per cent. of the
boys and 3.8 per cent. girls being classed as subnormal, whereas in the three prescribed
ages, 6.9 per cent. were considered subnormal. They compared with 4.1
per cent. boys, and 3.4 per cent. girls in the previous year.
In personal cleanliness, this group also shows an improvement on the 11.year.old
group, 98.8 per cent. boys and 96.9 per cent. girls having perfectly clean heads. The
dental condition of this group was found to be slightly inferior to that of the 11.year.
old group, for both boys and girls, the percentage with satisfactory mouths being
75.7 in the case of boys, and 74.9 in the case of girls, compared with 77.7 and 78.7
respectively in the 11.year.old group. In other respects, the "leaver" children
showed an improvement in health over the 11.year.old group.
Spinal curvature in the "leaver" girls was reported in .8 per cent. compared
with .7 per cent. at age 11; on the other hand, heart defect in the "leaver"
girls was 1.5 per cent., the same percentage as in the 11.year.old group. The older
girls invariably present more cases of spinal curvature and heart defect than do
the older boys. The percentage of spinal defect in "leaver" boys was .4 per cent.
and of heart defect 1.3 per cent.
The falling off in the condition of the teeth of the "leaver" children is not a
satisfactory feature of the school medical work. It is due partly to the fact that,
until the latter part of 1937, skilled inspection of the teeth by the inspecting dental
surgeons had not extended in all cases to the children aged 12 and 13 years, but
had ceased at the age of 11 in many schools.
The reorganisation of the tops of schools has also caused difficulty in the way of
following up the older children.
"Choice of employment" slips are supplied to school doctors, to be made out
for every leaver who possesses some disability which affects choice of employment.
These slips show the following occupational conditions for which a child might be
unsuitable, and are attached to the school.leaving form, thus being available at
the school.leaving conferences: heavy manual work; sedentary confined work;
work involving exposure to bad weather; work in a dusty atmosphere; climbing;
proximity to moving machinery; prolonged standing; eye.strain; work requiring
acute distant vision or acute hearing; handling of confectionery; food preparation.