View report page

VITAL STATISTICS
BIRTH RATE.
After allowing for inward and outward transfers during the year,
the Registrar General gives a figure of 930 live births and 28 stillbirths
in 1937, and this gives a live birth rate of 13.365 compared
with 13.766 in 1936.
The provisional rate for England and Wales for 1937 was 14.9.
DEATH RATE.
There were 621 deaths during the year amongst residents, and
this gives a death rate of 8.924 per 1,000, as compared with 9.177 in
1936. The figure, although uncorrected for age and sex distribution,
compares favourably with the rate of 12.4 for England and Wales in
1937, and when corrected by the application of the "Comparability
Factor" supplied by the Registrar General, the figure is reduced to
8.745, which is a very low figure.
The causes of death and the ages at death are shown in Table
'A,' and a table showing how the Beckenham figures compare with
those for England and Wales appears on page 7.
CANCER DEATH RATE.
The number of deaths from Cancer is 91, and the rate for 1937
of 1.307 compares with a rate of 1.568 for 1936.
HEART DISEASE.
The causes of deaths classed under the heading Heart Disease
are numerous. The total of 155 deaths includes arterio sclerosis,
rheumatic fever, and many deaths due to degenerative changes
involving the heart muscle, and due to old age and not to disease.
TUBERCULOSIS DEATH RATE.
The number of deaths from all forms of Tuberculosis was 43,
and the death rate of 0.488 compares with 0.381 in 1936. 34 deaths
were due to pulmonary tuberculosis, and 9 to other forms. A table
showing the ages at death and the ward distribution appears on
page 41.
ZYMOTIC DEATH RATE.
The deaths from Zymotic diseases totalled 5:2 from Infantile
Diarrhoea; 2 from Scarlet Fever; 1 from Whooping Cough. The
rate of 0.071 compares with 0.161 in 1936 when there were 11 deaths.
6