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 1960
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Table (i)
| Age | Principal cause of defective vision | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cataract | Glaucoma | Retrolental fibroplasia | Other conditions | Total | |
| 0-4 years | 3 | - | - | 5 | 8 |
| 5-15 years | 1 | — | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 16-64 years | 47 | 27 | — | 161 | 235 |
| 65-74 years | 84 | 28 | — | 185 | 297 |
| 75 years and over | 224 | 34 | — | 357 | 615 |
| Age not known | 1 | — | — | 4 | 5 |
| 360 | 89 | 2 | 717 | 1,168 | |
| 252 | 69 | 2 | 351 | 674 | |
| 700 | 77.5 | 100.0 | 49.0 | 57.7 | |
Table (ii)
| No. of patients examined | Treatments recommended | Optical | Hospital supervision | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | Medical | Surgical | ||||||
| Early | Later | V general condition permits | ||||||
| Cataract | 360 | 108 | 30 | 56 | 28 | 25 | 15 | 148 |
| Glaucoma | 89 | 20 | 16 | 1 | — | 1 | 5 | 63 |
| Retrolental fibroplasia | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| Other conditions | 717 | 366 | 70 | 19 | 19 | 8 | 50 | 249 |
| Total | 1,168 | 494 | 116 | 76 | 47 | 34 | 71 | 461 |
* Includes cases recommended more than one form of treatment.
Persons recommended to obtain treatment are re.examined at intervals after the initial
registration. The number of persons re.examined for this reason in 1960 is shown in
table (iii)
Table (iii)
| Principal cause of defective vision | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cataract | Glaucoma | Retrolental fibroplasia | Other conditions | Total | |
| No. of persons re.examined | 180 | 47 | 1 | 352 | 580 |
| No. found to have had treatment | 139 | 41 | — | 187 | 367 |
| Percentage treated | 77.2 | 87.2 | — | 53.1 | 63.3 |
As a consequence of successful treatment, 15 persons previously registered as blind
were found, on re.examination, to be partially.sighted and 11 persons previously certified
as blind or partially.sighted were found to be improved to such an extent as no longer
to justify registration.
Figures for ophthalmia neonatorum are given on page 27.
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