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9
The true effects of the war cannot be separated from the statistical influences
described in the footnote on page 7 (particularly the change in 1940). The rates in
recent years appear to be running higher than pre-war. Degenerative diseases thus
continue to attain greater importance, and are responsible for over half the death-rate.
The cancer death-rate for all ages in 1952 was 2.30 per 1,000, slightly higher than
in 1951.
Cancer
The death-rate from cancer, which is largely a disease of the latter half of life, can be
substantially changed by variations in the age constitution of the population. Some
form of standardisation of the crude rate is, therefore, essential for true comparative
purposes. Age group population estimates were not available for London between
1939 and 1946.
Age specific rates since 1947 are shown below:

Up to 1951, for England and Wales, the comparative mortality index for females
had fallen to 0.92 (1938 = 1.000), while the male index had risen to 1.11.
In London, for both sexes combined, the long-term trend of cancer mortality can
be seen from Table 3 (page 174). The increase there shown between 1891 and 1940 is
due partly to the increasing age of the population and partly to improved diagnosis,
but some part is doubtless attributable to increased incidence, particularly cancer of
the lung. The small drop in the death-rate for males over 45 in 1952, which is the first
decrease for a considerable time, is entirely due to a decrease in the deaths registered as
from cancer of the digestive organs (International Classification numbers 150-159) ;
in 1951 the death-rates from cancer of these sites in this age sex group were 3.04 per
1,000, while in 1952 they were 2.81 per 1,000.
Digestive
Mortality from digestive diseases (other than cancer) in 1952 was 0.44 per 1,000.
Within this group the death-rate from ulcer of the stomach or duodenum was 0.17
per 1,000 compared with 0.19 in 1951 and 0.17 in 1950.
Diabetes
Diabetes mortality fell steadily between 1939 and 1947, but in the last four years
the death-rates have been 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 008, 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 1952 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
1952 34