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Violcncc
At all age levels mortality from this cause in females is twice that in males.
As the sixth most numerous cause of death, violence, under the sub-headings of
suicide, road accidents and other forms, has been shown chronologically in Table 4
(page 182) (certain other items no longer of much importance have been omitted).
The suicide rate fell slightly in 1955 but it has remained at about the same level
since 1953, higher than during the war, and immediate post-war years: the suicide
rate is lowest in times of war (both 1914-18 and 1939-45) and was highest in the
nineteen-thirties. Sainsbury* has shown that poverty, per se, is not a cause of suicide
but that sudden change from affluence to comparative poverty is a predisposing factor.
Deaths from road accidents in 1955 were the highest since the war; comparison
with pre-war years should take into account that from 1911 to 1940 the deaths are
estimated and are least reliable for the period 1921-1930. It is noteworthy that the
death-rate in the quinquennium 1906-10 from accidents involving vehicles and horses
was almost as great as the current rate which, for the most part, arises from accidents
involving motor vehicles. The accident rate in London may be much higher than is
indicated by these figures because of the involvement of non-Londoners whose deaths
are assigned to their place of residence.
Other violence was lower in the last five years than at any time in this century;
the high war-time figures are due to the inclusion therein of civilian casualties from
enemy action.
Infant
mortality
The infant mortality rate in 1955 was 23.2 per 1,000 live births which compares
with rates of 20.6 in 1954 and 23.8 in 1953. The movements of the death-rates from the
principal diseases at ages below one year since the years 1936-40 are shown in Table 7
(page 185), The diagram on page 17 illustrates the movements in the more important
current causes of death.
The increase in deaths assigned to congenital malformations and injury at birth
between 1936-40 and 1941-45 is partly attributable to changes in classification following
the adoption of the fifth revision of the International Causes of Death in 1938.
The increase in 1955 over 1954 has occurred mainly in deaths from bronchitis and
pneumonia and in deaths from immaturity: in the former case 1954 was an exceptional
year and the rate of 3.57 per 1,000 live births for deaths from respiratory causes in 1955
is lower than in 1953. Deaths from immaturity, however, are higher than in any year
since 1951 and the current rate for this cause is a reversal of the downward trend which
has hitherto continued without any check since 1936; immaturity is almost wholly
the concern of early infancy (the first four weeks of life) and is dealt with in more detail
below.
Neo-natal
mortality
Deaths in various periods of the first year of life during 1955 are shown in detail
in Table 6 (page 184). Deaths under four weeks numbered 834 or 16.7 per 1,000 live
births. Comparative rates for London and England and Wales in past years are:
* Sainsbury P. (1955) ' Suicide in London ', Chapman and Hall, Ltd., London.
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