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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with social indices exhibited by the standardized death rates and the legitimate birth rates are not apparent in these infant mortality rates. The correlations are :
| Correlations | 1911.13 r | 1920.22 r | 1930.32 r | 1950.52 r | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | |||||
Infant mortality showed a large positive correlation with each of the three indices
of social status up to 1920-22. In 1930-32 it has almost ceased to be affected by the
measures of social conditions, and only the percentage living more than two to a room
was significantly correlated with the rate. In 1950-52 no significant correlation was
present.
The general death rate, crude or standardized, has been frequently used as a broad measure of the health of the people, and recently the birth rate has given an indirect measure of the conditions of living since it has shown a steep gradation with social class. The correlations of infant mortality with these rates for the last four census periods are:
| Correlations | 1911-13 t | 1920-22 r | 1930-32 r | 1950-52 r | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In 1911-13, the correlations were all of the same order, being large and positive.
In 1920-22, they were slightly smaller, but still large and significant and approximately
equal. In 1930-32, the infant mortality was no longer correlated with the measures
of the birth rate ; the correlation with the measures of mortality had fallen considerably
but was still significant. In 1950-52, no significant correlation existed at all.
From the preceding correlations it might be inferred that infant mortality has now
fallen to such a low level that it is no longer any criterion of the social or economic
differences between the London boroughs. While this is so for the death rate for the
whole of the first year of life, it must be realized that the neonatal mortality is now
affecting the correlation more than in former years, since the deaths in the first month
of life form a much larger proportion of the infant deaths than formerly. The percentage
of deaths at various ages in the first year of life in London, for the period reviewed,
are shown in Table IX :
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