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
Marylebone 1902
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]
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6
Age Distribution.
The age and sex distribution are important factors in
interpreting birth and death rates.
The natural death rate, for example, of children under
5 years of age is about 52 per 1000; of persons 85 and
upwards 280 per 1000; while the natural death rate for
persons between 20 and 35 is between 6 to 7 per 1000.
Hence in a district containing a large barracks filled with
young soldiers of the very best age, the mortality, quite
irrespective of sanitary condition, may appear very low;
in another district containing, say an orphan asylum
crammed with very young children, and in addition to this
a number of almshouses occupied by very old persons, the
death rate may appear excessive and alarming, although it
may be ouite a natural one.
The age and sex distribution is set out elaborately in Table IV., but the chief facts as well as a comparative view of the age constitution in the former (1891) census is more conveniently shown by calculating the ages in groups per 1000 of the population:—
| 1891 | 1901 | |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5 years | 93 | 83 |
| 5 to 15 | 162 | 143 |
| 15 to 25 | 216 | 216 |
| 25 to 40 | 262 | 279 |
| 40 and upwards | 267 | 279 |
| 1000 | 1000 |
It is evident there is an alteration in the age constitution
of the district, the proportion of children and young
persons is less, of adults more,
The Number of Foreigners in Marylebone.
Table V. shows the number of foreigners of various
countries resident in Marylebone. The majority of these
are of German, French, Swiss, Italian, and American origin.
It is interesting to observe that foreigners form 4 per
cent. of the total London population, and also 4 per cent. of
the Marylebone population.