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12
and 1949-51 in relation to certain specific sites are summarised below :—

The outstanding fact is the increase in cancer of the lung. The male rate is
more than five times the female rate, and during the last 20 years male mortality
has increased to a figure three and a half times the original rate, while the female
rate is two and half times its 1931-33 level. Buccal cancer in males has improved
during the same period. An increase in cancer of the digestive system in both sexes
was arrested five years ago, and figures have been steady since then. A slight
diminution occurred in 1951 in the number of male deaths from cancer of the genitourinary
system, but it is too early to say if this represents anything more than a
temporary check in the steadily increasing figures of the last few years.
Digestive
Mortality from digestive diseases (other than cancer) in 1951 was 0.45 per 1,000.
Within this group the death-rate from ulcer of the stomach or duodenum was 0.19
per 1,000 compared with 0.17 in 1950 and 0.15 in 1949.
Diabetes
Diabetes mortality fell steadily between 1939 and 1947, but in the last four
years the death-rates have been 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, indicating an arrest in the
decline which supports the impression that the previous decline had been connected
with the dietary stringency of the war and post-war years. At ages under 55, where
treatment is more effective, the number of deaths in 1951 was 34, which compares
with recent figures of:—
1936-38 (mean annual deaths) 86
1939—41 ( „ „ „ ) 71
1942-44 ( „ „ „ ) 42
1945—47 ( „ „ „ ) 31
1948 27
1949 26
1950 39
1951 34
Pneumonia
and other
respiratory
diseases
Mortality from pneumonia rose sharply in 1940 and remained higher than
formerly until 1943, when it began to fall, reaching in 1945 and 1946 a level lower
than the average of the intermediate and pre-war years. The rate for " other
respiratory diseases " was distorted in 1940 by the statistical revision of cause of
death, but thereafter declined fairly steadily. In 1947, however, there was an
increase in respiratory mortality, associated with the severe weather conditions of
February and March. In contrast, 1948 was a year of very light mortality for
respiratory diseases. The general downward trend is, however, clear, and an important
factor is, no doubt, the discovery of sulphonamide and anti-biotic therapies. The
pneumonia death-rate in 1951 was 0.64 per 1,000 compared with 0.50 in 1950, and
the rate for " other respiratory diseases," excluding bronchitis, was 0.12 compared
with 0.10 in 1950. these slight rises being probably due to the influenza epidemic.
Road
accidents
Deaths from motor vehicle accidents in 1951 amounted to 282 compared with
245 in 1950 and 257 in 1949. Although the addition to the death-rate due to road