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 1921
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]
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District births and deaths for the year ended 31st December, 1921, are given in the following table. A further table giving the vital statistics of separate localities for 1921 and the ten preceding years, will be found amongst the Ministry of Health Tables on page 63.
| Sub-District. | Population estimated to middle of 1921. | Males. | Births. | Males. | Deaths. Females. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Females. | Total. | ||||||
| All Souls | 26,184 | 209 | 181 | 390 | 133 | 135 | 268 |
| St. Mary | 28,709 | 231 | 214 | 445 | 162 | 183 | 345 |
| Christ Church | 32,445 | 358 | 362 | 720 | 253 | 202 | 455 |
| St. John | 17,862 | 198 | 186 | 384 | 116 | 171 | 287 |
| The Borough | 105,200 | 996 | 943 | 1,939 | 664 | 691 | 1,355 |
The following table shows the number of deaths that took place amongst infants under 1 year and adults of 65 years and upwards in each of the four quarters of 1921. It will be seen that the heaviest incidence in both old and young falls in the first and last quarter.
1921
| January-March | April-June | July-September | October-December | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infants under 1 year | 39 | 26 | 31 | 32 | 128 |
| Persons of 65 years and upwards | 123 | 133 | 158 | 490 |
Causes of and ages at Death.—General information with regard to the deaths
which occurred in the Borough during the year, mainly as to causes and the ages at
which death took place, is given in Table III of the Ministry of Health series at
page 65.
This same table gives the number of deaths from various specified causes which
occurred in institutions, in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. In each of the groups all
deaths, whether of residents or non-residents, are included, which accounts for the
fact that the total comes up to 1,020.
Fuller information than is possible in the table is given in the following pages,
in which also the figures relating both to causes of death and the ages at which these
causes were operative are analysed.
INFANTILE MORTALITY.
The infantile mortality rate of any district is the number of deaths of infants
under one year of age per 1,000 of the births which occurred in the same year. The
number of babies under one year who died in St. Marylebone in 1921 was 128, and
the number of births.in that year 1,939. The infantile mortality rate is therefore 66'0.
Though this is not the lowest rate recorded for the Borough, being one point over
that for 1920 (65 per 1,000), it must nevertheless be regarded as the most remarkable
of all the rates. A year of phenomenal drought, it was generally anticipated that it
would be marked by an excessive mortality amongst infants, particularly from
diarrhoea and diarrhceal infections. This view was based upon experience, especially
upon the happenings of 1911, when the summer was characterised by conditions
resembling those that occurred in 1921. In the former year, in spite of the efforts made,
the rate reached to nearly 110; in 1921 with conditions almost as bad as regards weather
and worse, because of strikes and unemployment, in other respects, the rate reached was
practically that of the most favourable year on record. If, as is commonly stated, the
rate of infantile mortality is the finest index of the sanitary condition of and the health
work done in a district, it may be taken that St. Marylebone occupies a distinctly
high position in these respects. Amongst London Boroughs, as a matter of fact, she