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 1946
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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69
Diphtheria
immunisation
According to the parents' statements, 81.0 per cent. of the children had been
immunised. This is probably an over-statement, and, as no complete records are
available, particularly for those evacuated from London during the war, it is impossible
to check it.
The following table shows the percentage of children with normal eyesight in Vision 1946, compared with 1938:—
| Age group | 1938 | 1946 |
|---|---|---|
| 7 years old | 63.64 | 78.19 |
| 11 years old | 69.30 | 78.65 |
| Leavers | 70.13 | 77.83 |
In each age group there was a higher proportion of children with normal eyesight
in 1946 than in 1938. The reason for this improvement which began during the war
and has persisted is not known.
Nutrition
The subjoined table shows the doctors' assessment of nutrition in percentages as found in the normal four age groups in 1946, with 1938 for comparison. The classification is as follows: (1) Excellent, (2) normal, (3) subnormal. (4) bad.
| Age groups | 1038 | 1946 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. examined | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | No. examined | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Entrants | 47,301 | 15.28 | 78.26 | 6.39 | 0.07 | 38,217 | 16.30 | 78.24 | 5.42 | 0.04 |
| 7 years old | 39,044 | 13.55 | 77.70 | 8.65 | 0.10 | 26,882 | 15.76 | 77.48 | 6.71 | 0.05 |
| 11 years old | 41,576 | 15.54 | 77.71 | 6.72 | 0.03 | 26,174 | 18.31 | 75.74 | 5.90 | 0 05 |
| Leavers | 42,074 | 20.50 | 75.03 | 4.44 | 0.03 | 21,641 | 23.22 | 72.67 | 4.07 | 0.04 |
| Total | 169,995 | 16.24 | 77.20 | 6.50 | 0.06 | 112,914 | 17.96 | 76.42 | 5.58 | 0.04 |
There is a higher percentage in each age group classed as of excellent nutrition
in 1946 than in 1938, and a lower percentage of the children classed as subnormal in
1946 than in 1938. Only 49 children out of 112,914 were classed as malnourished in
1946, compared with 100 out of 169,995 children so classed in 1938.
Dental
conditions
The following table shows the doctors' findings in 1946, at medical inspections of children in the four age groups—grouped into (a) sound and (b) caries, and for comparison the 1938 percentage figures are also shown:—
| Age groups | 1938 | 1946 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | Caries | Sound | Caries | |
| Entrants | 59.7 | 40.3 | 69.11 | 30.89 |
| 7 years old | 69.6 | 30.4 | 67.73 | 32.27 |
| 11 years old | 77.4 | 22.6 | 79.14 | 20.86 |
| Leavers | 75.1 | 24.9 | 80.79 | 19.21 |
In every age group except 7 years old there is a higher percentage of children,
as found by the doctors, with sound teeth in 1946 than in 1938, but the doctors'
assessments are naturally not so reliable as the findings of the dental surgeons with
probe and mirror.
The dental surgeons inspect children of all ages, and the following table summarises
the dental surgeons findings in 1946, with corresponding data for 1938:—
Year
Number examined
Number requiring
treatment
Percentage requiring
treatment
1938 292,971 204,205 69.7
1946 138,290 91,441 66.1
The total percentage reported by the doctors to require treatment was 26.07,
compared with the findings of the dental surgeons, viz., 66.1 per cent. in 1946. The
doctors only record gross and obvious caries, the dentists include incipient decay.