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 1942
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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The following comparisons are made in regard to the children examined in the four age groups in the two most recent war-time years, and those examined in the same age groups in 1938, the last complete pre-war year of medical inspection:—
| 1942 | 1941 | 1938 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Numbers examined | 88,325 | 72,532 | 169,995 |
| Nutrition unsatisfactory | 6.2 | 6.3 | 6.6 |
| Nits or pediculi—hair | 1.9 | 3.0 | 2.3 |
| Teeth—obvious decay | 36.0 | 41.4 | 29.8 |
| Vision—6/9 or worse | 23.8 | 23.7 | 32.2 |
| Adenoids and enlarged tonsils | 7.3 | 5.0 | 9.2 |
| Skin diseases | 2.0 | 2.2 | 1.0 |
| Enlarged glands | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.5 |
| External eye disease | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| Otorrhœa | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
| Defective hearing | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Heart disease | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.4 |
| Anaemia | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Lung disease (not T.B.) | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| Tuberculosis (pulmonary) | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.04 |
| „ (other lesions) | 0.05* | 0.07* | 0.02 |
| Rickets (boys—entrants only) | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
| „ (girls—entrants only) | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.4 |
* Some of the children concerned would no doubt have been in attendance at special "P.D." schools
under peace-time conditions.
Nutrition
The nutritional condition of the great majority of children still continues to
be classed as satisfactory. The general opinion among the school doctors, nurses,
teachers and care committee workers was that there were no signs of any physical
or mental deterioration among London school children generally. At the request
of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sydenstricker, an American authority on deficiency
diseases, examined 150 elementary day school children in a poor area, and found
no recognisable clinical evidence of vitamin deficiency, and stated that he was
favourably impressed by the general appearance and vitality of the children whom
he saw. Further evidence of the well-being of the children has since come from
an independent investigator who was visiting some schools in which she carried
out an enquiry some 15 years ago. She remarks upon the general and physical
improvement noticed in her recent visits as compared with her observations at
her former investigation.
The percentage of children in each age group where nutritional condition was unsatisfactory (either slightly or grossly subnormal) is shown below:—
| Age group—boys and girls— | 1942 | 1941 | 1938 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entrants | 6.90 | 7.03 | 6.46 |
| 7 year old | 8.64 | 8.35 | 8.75 |
| 11 year old | 6.26 | 6.28 | 6.75 |
| Leavers (13+) | 3.64 | 4.03 | 4.47 |
Thus, while the nutritional classification of the combined four age groups
indicates that there were no apparent signs of any deterioration in the physical conditions
of the children, the percentage assessments of subnormal nutrition of the
separate age groups indicate that the "entrants" was the only group which showed
no improvement over that recorded in 1938, although there was a slight improvement
over the figure for 1941.
Weighing and
measuring
A partial resumption of the pre-war six-monthly weighing and measuring was
made in January, 1942, and 10,866 individual children were weighed and measured,
most of them twice during the year, so that 18,123 measurements were available
for statistical comparison with comparable data collected in 1938, and which formed
the basis for the Council's report on the average heights and weights of London
elementary school children.†
† Report by the school medical officer on the average heights and weights of elementary school
children in the County of London in 1938, published by the London County Council (Pub. No. 3464),
price 9d., post free 10d.