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 1963
[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 13.4 in 1963 compared with 12.6 in 1962. The comparative
percentages for sex and age are shown in the following table. The percentage referred for
vision defects has increased from 6.9 in 1961 to 7.6 in 1963; for other defects it has increased
from 6.0 in 1962 to 6.4 in 1963. In nearly all age.groups the percentages of boys
and girls referred for treatment of vision defect have increased over those of last year.
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) a
marked increase over the 1962 percentages was apparent in boys aged 8 and girls aged 15
and over, and a less marked one in boys aged 5 and girls aged 8. For the 8.year.old boys
this was attributable to an equal increase in vision defects and other defects; for the girls
aged 15 and over, to an increase in the number of vision defects approximately twice that
of other defects; and for the girls aged 8 and boys aged 5 to increases predominantly in
vision defects and other defects respectively.
| Age and sex | All defects | Vision defects | Defects other than vision | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | |
| 4 and less Boys | 9.3 | 8.6 | 9.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 9.0 | 8.3 | 9.6 |
| Girls | 7.6 | 7.9 | 7.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 7.3 | 7.6 | 7.3 |
| 5 Boys | 8.6 | 8.6 | 9.8 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 8.9 |
| Girls | 7.5 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 7.2 |
| 6 Boys | 11.8 | 11.3 | 12.4 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 10.8 | 9.8 | 10.6 |
| Girls | 9.4 | 9.5 | 10.1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 7.9 | 8.3 | 8.3 |
| 7 Boys | 15.4 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 7.0 | 6.4 | 6.9 | 9.0 | 9.4 | 8.9 |
| Girls | 13.9 | 14.1 | 12.7 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 6.4 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 7.0 |
| 8 Boys | 13.5 | 13.7 | 15.7 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 8.1 | 7.0 | 7.3 | 8.3 |
| Girls | 12.8 | 12.4 | 13.6 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 7.9 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 6.3 |
| 9 Boys | 14.0 | 14.3 | 15.6 | 7.1 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 7.9 | 8.4 | 8.8 |
| Girls | 14.0 | 14.1 | 15.0 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.8 | 6.3 | 7.0 | 6.9 |
| 10 Boys | 15.5 | 15.4 | 17.4 | 8.9 | 7.0 | 8.6 | 7.4 | 9.3 | 9.4 |
| Girls | 14.2 | 14.9 | 15.4 | 9.4 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 8.0 |
| 11 Boys | 12.8 | 12.4 | 13.3 | 8.4 | 8.1 | 8.9 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.9 |
| Girls | 16.4 | 17.2 | 17.9 | 11.6 | 12.1 | 13.0 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 5.5 |
| 12 Boys | 13.4 | 14.3 | 14.3 | 8.8 | 9.8 | 9.6 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.4 |
| Girls | 15.4 | 17.2 | 17.8 | 10.4 | 11.4 | 12.4 | 5.8 | 6.6 | 6.2 |
| 13 Boys | 12.0 | 13.0 | 14.8 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 10.6 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.8 |
| Girls | 15.0 | 17.5 | 18.5 | 10.7 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 4.9 | 6.6 | 6.2 |
| 14 Boys | 12.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 9.4 | 9.0 | 10.7 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.6 |
| Girls | 14.5 | 15.5 | 16.4 | 10.7 | 12.2 | 12.6 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| 15 and over Boys | 12.2 | 11.8 | 12.5 | 9.7 | 9.5 | 10.2 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.7 |
| Girls | 14.3 | 14.9 | 16.9 | 11.6 | 12.1 | 13.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 4.1 |
| Total Boys | 12.0 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.8 | 60 | 6.0 | 6.6 |
| Girls | 12.6 | 13.2 | 13.9 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 8.4 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 6.1 |
| Total Both sexes | 12.3 | 12.6 | 13.4 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 7.6 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 6.4 |
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 1961 to 1963. These percentages remain
fairly stable over the period. Enlarged tonsils and adenoids show a continuing decline over
the last four years. Psychological defects and enuresis have increased over the last year.
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