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 1955

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

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boroughs was present in each period. The range between the boroughs decreased
slightly, however ; the ratio of the highest to the lowest was 1.8 in 1911-13 and 1.4 in
1950-52. The boroughs of Hampstead, Lewisham, and Wandsworth had the lowest
death-rates throughout the 40 years, and the boroughs of Bermondsey, Bethnal Green,
Finsbury, Shoreditch, Southwark, and Stepney the highest. As is well known, the fall
in the death-rate has been largely due to the fall in infant and child mortality. This can
be illustrated by considering the death-rates for the first and last period for London
as a whole (Table V) :

Table: Table V—Administrative County of London death-rates per1,000

Table V—Administrative County of London death-rates per1,000

Age (yrs)1911-131950-52
MalesFemalesMalesFemales
0-43.036.36.44.9
5-2.72.60.60.4
15-3.22.50.90.6
25-7.35.12.21.7
45-24.617.216.48.5
65-68.251.561.532.5
75+158.6135.8152.7115.3

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It will be noted that between the ages of 45 and 74 the female death-rate has
decreased faster than the male rate. The death-rate for most causes of death in these
two age groups shows a female advantage. For three large and important groups of
causes the rates in 1951 were as shown in Table VI.

Table: TableVI—Death-rates for certain causes for ages45and over

TableVI—Death-rates for certain causes for ages45and over

Cause of deathCancerHeart DiseasesBronchitis
Age 45-64Males4.34.41.9
Females2.71.80.4
Age 65-74Males13.520.48.4
Females6.611.12.5

Table: Since the overcrowding indices had been so drastically reduced by 1951 it seems of interest to see whether, as in the past, the indices of living conditions are correlated with the death rate. Excluding the City of London from the calculations, the correlation coefficients between the socio-economic conditions of the boroughs and their standardized deaths rates are as follows :

Since the overcrowding indices had been so drastically reduced by 1951 it seems of interest to see whether, as in the past, the indices of living conditions are correlated with the death rate. Excluding the City of London from the calculations, the correlation coefficients between the socio-economic conditions of the boroughs and their standardized deaths rates are as follows :

Correlations1911-13 r1920-22 r1930-32 r1950-52 r
Standardized Death Rate andPercentage living more than two to a room0.8890.9220.8740.364
Persons per Room0.9300.9060.7990.800
Proportion of population in Social Classes IV and V-0.6940.6250.900

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5 per cent. level of significance r = 0.36, 1 per cent. level r = 0.46.
170