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 1959
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Vision
The visual acuity standards expressed as percentages of children tested are set out in the
following table.
The vision of children under seven years of age is not tested as a routine and therefore
this age group is a select sample with a high rate of referral for treatment. Related to the
total number of children seen at this age the incidence is much lower—the true incidence
of defective vision in children under seven years of age is therefore somewhere between
these two figures.
It appears that the percentage of boys requiring treatment for vision rises until age 13
when it levels off, but for girls this levelling off occurs earlier at age 11. At all ages proportionately
fewer girls than boys have 6/6 vision without glasses and therefore proportionately
more girls are referred for treatment. The highest rate of referral for treatment
occurs at age 10 for both boys and girls not wearing spectacles, after which it declines
slightly; for children wearing glasses the rate increases with age.
Of the children inspected 0.6 per cent. were noted for treatment of squint as in 1958. This percentage was 2.9 in the entrant group, falling to 0.1 in the school leaver group.
| Age group | 6/6 | 6/9 | 6/12 or worse | Referred for treatment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys % | Girls % | Boys % | Girls % | Boys % | Girls % | Boys % | Girls % | |
| 76.2 | 75.9 | 12.6 | 14.6 | 8.6 | 7.8 | 14.3 | 13.5 | |
| 7 | 76.4 | 75.2 | 13.4 | 14.3 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.0 | 6.7 |
| 8 | 81.2 | 79.9 | 8.7 | 9.4 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 5.6 |
| 9 | 81.9 | 79.4 | 7.6 | 8.5 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 5.9 |
| 10 | 81.6 | 77.8 | 7.6 | 9.4 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 7.0 |
| 11 | 80.3 | 77.0 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 5.6 | 6.7 |
| 12 | 79.9 | 77.7 | 5.2 | 6.2 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 4.4 | 5.8 |
| 13 | 79.7 | 78.8 | 4.2 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 6.2 |
| 14 | 79.9 | 76.9 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 6.1 |
| 15 and over | 77.5 | 75.4 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 5.3 |
| Total | 78.7 | 76.7 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 6.1 |
| Under 7 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.2 |
| 7 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.3 |
| 8 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.3 |
| 9 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 2.8 |
| 10 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.9 |
| 11 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
| 12 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 3.1 |
| 13 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| 14 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.3 |
| 15 and over | 6.4 | 6.1 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.6 |
| Total | 4.3 | 4.2 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
note: The percentages of children referred for treatment differ slightly from those quoted in the defects for
treatment table on page 93 in which the percentages were based on the number of children medically inspected.
96