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
Croydon 1930
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]
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Table XXXVIII.—Total 245 Cases.
| Rheumatic Pains | 204—86.5% |
| Rheumatic Fever | 33—13.4% |
| Chorea | 31—12.6% |
| Carditis Definite | 91—37.2% |
| Carditis Suspected | 89—36.3% |
| Tonsillitis | 98—40.0% |
Two children only had had both rheumatic fever and chorea.
Rheumatic Fever Cases.
There were 33 children who gave a definite history of rheumatic
fever. Of these 3 had sound hearts, 25 had definite and 5 suspected
carditis.
Chorea Cases.
There were 31 cases of chorea. Of these 14 had had definite
carditis, 8 suspected and 9 sound hearts.
Table XXXIX.
245 Cases classified by ages at onset of initial symptoms, shown in relation to age-grouping of the same cases at the time of examination.
| Age Groups | 2-3 | 3-4 | 4-5 | 5-6 | 6-7 | 7-8 | 8-9 | 9-10 | 10-11 | 11-12 | 12-13 | 13-14 | 14-15 | 15-16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | 0 | 1 | 17 | 27 | 36 | 31 | 40 | 23 | 28 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| (2) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 23 | 21 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 22 | 28 | 25 | 7 | 6 |
(1) Grouping according to age at onset of initial symptoms.
(2) Grouping according to ages at time of examination.
In 213 cases (87%) initial symptoms appeared before the age
of 11 years. During the age period 3-7 years, 39% of the children
showed symptoms.
Family Histories.
In the case of 104 families (42.5%) either the father or the
mother had had rheumatic fever or chorea. In 67 other cases
(27.2%) a history of rheumatic fever was obtained in near relatives
of the parents. In the case of 44 children (18%) their brothers or
sisters had had either rheumatic fever or chorea. Only 12% of the
cases gave a negative family history.