Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
were significant. In 1950-52, the infant mortality at 1-3 months was not correlated
with any of the indices, at 3-6 months it was significantly correlated with the percentage
in Social Classes IV and V and the number of persons per room but not with the other
index of overcrowding, while at 6-12 months only the percentage in Social Classes IV
and V gave a significant figure. For the post-neonatal period, all three indices were
significantly correlated with infant mortality.
This sub-division of infant mortality by ages shows, as expected, that the trend of
the neonatal mortality is at least partially responsible for the lack of correlation in
1950-52 between infant mortality and socio-economic conditions. The post-neonatal
rate remains significantly correlated with the three indices, though probably at a lower
level than in 1920-22 (the differences between the two periods are not significant,
except the percentage living more than two to a room).
Population | No. of Boroughs | Percentage living more than two to a room (1951) correlated with | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Neonatal Mortality | Infant Mortality | ||||
r | P | r | P | ||
In all three groups the neonatal mortality is insignificantly correlated with the overcrowding
index. Infant mortality is significantly correlated with this index in the very
large boroughs but not in the other two groups of smaller boroughs. No explanation
suggests itself to account for this difference. The infant deaths were rather few in the
third group of boroughs (27 and 37 in 1950-52 in the two smallest), but in the second
group the smallest borough had 69 deaths. Paucity of deaths cannot be an explanation.
Correlations | 1920-22 r | 1930-32 r | 1950-52 r | |
---|---|---|---|---|
The large significant correlation between the proportion of occupied males in
Social Classes IV and V and the number of persons per room has remained constant
over the 30 years. The relationship between the proportion of occupied males in Social
Classes IV and V and the percentage living more than two to a room had fallen below
the level of significance in 1950-52 although a large significant correlation was found
* The City of London has been omitted from all the correlations in this paper since it has a very small and unusually
constituted population.
176