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 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]
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Table VII.
| Condition. | Entrants. | Intermediate. | Leavers. | Other Ages. | All Groups. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | |
| Cleanliness: (Percentage Clean) | ||||||||||
| Head | 100.0 | 99.1 | 98.8 | 98.5 | 100.0 | 99.2 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 99.9 | 98.9 |
| Body | 100.0 | 99.7 | 99.9 | 99.9 | 100.0 | 99.7 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 99.8 |
| Clothing (satisfactory) | 100.0 | 99.9 | 99.8 | 100.0 | 98.8 | 98.3 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 99.4 | 99.6 |
| Footgear (satisfactory) | 100.0 | 99.9 | 99.7 | 99.5 | 98.8 | 98.3 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 99.3 | 99.4 |
| Nutrition (normal) | 83.6 | 83.5 | 83.4 | 83.2 | 87.2 | 92.1 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 84.6 | 85.4 |
| Defects: | ||||||||||
| Circulatory System | 6.8 | 6.1 | 7.3 | 9.1 | 4.5 | 9.5 | 18.7 | ... | 6.4 | 8.1 |
| Pulmonary System | 5.4 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 6.3 | ... | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Skin Disease | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 6.3 | ... | 1.7 | 1.8 |
| Defects of Nose and Throat | 35.9 | 34.2 | 25.3 | 30.5 | 8.6 | 15.0 | 37.5 | ... | 24.9 | 28.2 |
| Enlarged Cervical Glands | 16.5 | 12.9 | 11.7 | 14.2 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 31.3 | ... | 11.2 | 11.5 |
| External Eye Disease | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 6.3 | ... | 1.2 | 1.3 |
| Defective Vision | 0.3 | 1.0 | 8.2 | 7.9 | 8.6 | 10.5 | 12.5 | 33.3 | 5.4 | 6.9 |
| Defective Hearing | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.6 | ... | ... | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Speech Defects | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | ... | ... | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Dental Disease (more than four decayed) | 17.5 | 19.4 | 10.1 | 10.9 | 10.7 | 6.2 | 6.3 | ... | 12.9 | 12.8 |
| Dull and Backward | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.2 | ... | ... | 0.5 | 0.4 |
The above Table gives in a concise form the findings at Routine
Medical Inspections.
Defects of the nose and throat are once again the commonest
defects found, followed by enlarged cervical glands. There is a
close relationship between enlarged cervical glands and unhealthy
conditions of the nose and throat. In themselves simple enlarged
neck glands are of no great moment, but they serve as pointers to
unhealthy conditions elsewhere, and may become the nidus of
Tubercular infection.
Taking all the groups examined subnormal nutrition was
recorded in 16.1 per cent. of the children as contrasted with 11.6
Per cent. in 1937.
The influence of school work on eyesight is again shown by the
higher figures for the Leaver group, and if these figures are contrasted
with those for secondary school children, it is seen that the
latter are even less favourable.