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 1961
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Defects noted at routine medical inspections—The overall percentage of children referred
for treatment of a defect was 12.3 in 1961 compared with 12.5 in 1960 and the comparative
percentages for sex and age are shown in the following table. The percentage referred for
vision defects has increased from 6.1 in 1959 and 6.6 in 1960 to 6.9 in 1961; for other
defects it has decreased from 6.8 in 1959, 6.3 in 1960, to 5.8 in 1961; the increase in vision
defect was of the same order for both boys and girls, but the decline in the percentages
for other defects was greater for girls than for boys. Vision defects are dealt with in more
detail in a later paragraph.
For all defects in the age groups containing the largest numbers (viz., 5, 8, 12 and 15)
boys aged 15 showed a marked increase over the 1960 figures and boys aged 12 also showed
an increase, but to a lesser extent, both increases being accounted for almost entirely by
the increase in vision defect. For girls there was no appreciable change.
| Age and sex | All defects | Vision defects | Defects other than vision | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | ||
| 4 and less | Boys | 10.1 | 9.6 | 9.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 9.8 | 9.3 | 9.0 |
| Girls | 8.9 | 8.3 | 7.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 8.6 | 8.0 | 7.3 | |
| 5 | Boys | 9.6 | 9.2 | 8.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 9.1 | 8.7 | 8.2 |
| Girls | 8.3 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 7.9 | 7.3 | 6.9 | |
| 6 | Boys | 13.2 | 12.5 | 11.8 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 12.1 | 10.8 | 10.8 |
| Girls | 11.2 | 10.7 | 9.4 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 10.3 | 9.0 | 7.9 | |
| 7 | Boys | 15.7 | 15.2 | 15.4 | 7.2 | 6.6 | 7.0 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 9.0 |
| Girls | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 8.5 | 8.2 | 7.2 | |
| 8 | Boys | 14.8 | 14.0 | 13.5 | 6.9 | 7.2 | 7.0 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 7.0 |
| Girls | 14.0 | 13.5 | 12.8 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 5.9 | |
| 9 | Boys | 15.5 | 13.7 | 14.0 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 9.0 | 7.1 | 7.9 |
| Girls | 14.1 | 13.3 | 14.0 | 8.4 | 7.5 | 8.1 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 6.3 | |
| 10 | Boys | 17.2 | 16.0 | 15.5 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 10.0 | 7.8 | 7.4 |
| Girls | 16.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 9.4 | 8.6 | 7.4 | 5.7 | |
| 11 | Boys | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.8 | 8.5 | 9.1 | 8.4 | 6.2 | 4.6 | 4.8 |
| Girls | 16.1 | 17.3 | 16.4 | 9.8 | 11.3 | 11.6 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 5.4 | |
| 12 | Boys | 11.6 | 13.0 | 13.4 | 7.1 | 8.3 | 8.8 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.1 |
| Girls | 13.9 | 15.3 | 15.4 | 8.8 | 9.8 | 10.4 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 5.8 | |
| 13 | Boys | 14.9 | 13.4 | 12.0 | 9.1 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 6.5 | 5.2 | 3.9 |
| Girls | 17.1 | 16.3 | 15.0 | 9.7 | 11.0 | 10.7 | 8.0 | 6.2 | 4.9 | |
| 14 | Boys | 12.0 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 9.1 | 8.9 | 9.4 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.1 |
| Girls | 12.9 | 13.2 | 14.5 | 9.3 | 10.2 | 10.7 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.6 | |
| 15 and over | Boys | 11.9 | 11.4 | 12.2 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 9.7 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 2.9 |
| Girls | 13.0 | 14.3 | 14.3 | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.3 | |
| Total | Boys | 12.4 | 12.1 | 12.0 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 6.3 | 6.0 |
| Girls | 12.5 | 12.9 | 12.6 | 6.3 | 7.1 | 7.5 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 5.6 | |
| Total | Both sexes | 12.4 | 12.5 | 12.3 | 6.1 | 6.6 | 6.9 | 6.8 | 6.3 | 5.8 |
note: A child can be noted as requiring treatment of vision and another defect, hence the percentage requiring
vision treatment plus the percentage requiring treatment of other defects exceeds the percentage referred for
treatment of all defects.
The following table shows the percentage of children of all ages noted for treatment or
observation of the defects listed for the years 1959 to 1961. These percentages remain
fairly stable over the period. The slight but steady decrease in the incidence of enlarged
cervical glands continues. Enlarged tonsils and adenoids, lung disease and orthopaedic
defects all show a continued decline since 1959, psychological defects an upward trend.
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