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
Acton 1898
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Acton]
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The recorded general death-rate is therefore 15.8 per 1,000, as
against 15.9 in 1897. The London death-rate was 18.7 per 1,000 living.
This ordinary death-rate cannot be taken as a true index of the
healthiness of the Parish, nor can it be justly compared with other
sanitary districts, unless some allowance is made for the relative
proportions of males and females at different ages in the districts
compared.
Death-rates vary according to the nature of the population of the
respective districts; for instance, in a district containing a large number
of very young or very old people, the death-rate would be considerably
higher than in a district consisting of middle-aged people.
Thus in this country the mean annual death-rate is as follows:—
| Males. | Females. | |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5 years of age | 68.1 | 58.1 |
| 10 to 15 „ | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| 25 „ 35 „ | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| 35 „ 45 „ | 13.7 | 11.6 |
| 45 „ 55 „ | 20.0 | 14.6 |
| Over 75 „ | 169.1 | 155.8 |
It will thus be seen that the death-rates of different districts cannot
be compared with one another, unless they are reduced to a common
standard.
What preventive measures against disease have achieved during the
last 50 years, despite the increased strain of the struggle for existence,
is shown from a consideration of the difference in the average number
of years lived by each individual.
From 1838 to 1854 the average lifetime was 39.9 years for males
and 41.9 for females (Farr); from 1871-80, it was 41.4 years for males
and 44.6 for females (Ogle); and from 1881-90, it was 43.7 years for
males and 47.2 for females (Tatham).