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 1939
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]
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Classification of Deaths according to disease over a poriod of six years.
| Cause of Death | 1934 Total Deaths | 1935 Total Deaths | 1936 Total Deaths | 1937 Total Deaths | 1938 Total Deaths | 1939 Total Deaths | Death Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enteric Fever | 1 | - | 4 | 35 | 12 | 2 | 0.009 |
| malaria | - | - | - | - | — | - | "" |
| Small Pox | - | - | - | — | — | — | - |
| Measles | 14 | - | 21 | 5 | 8 | — | - |
| Scarlet Fever | 3 | — | 2 | 3 | 3 | — | |
| Whooping Cough | 18 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0.013 |
| Diphtheria and Croup | 24 | 12 | 8 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 0.067 |
| Influenza (including Influenzal pneumonia) | 28 | 25 | 39 | 71 | 21 | 48 | 0.206 |
| Dysentery | 1 | 1 | 0.004 | ||||
| Erysipelas | 5 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0.009 |
| Cerebro -Spinal Fever | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0.009 | |
| Pulmonary Tuberculosis | 144 | 148 | 132 | 140 | 117 | 89 | 0.382 |
| Tuberculous Meningitis | 6 | 9 | 19 | 15 | 20 | 18 | 0.077 |
| Other Tuberculous Disease | 7 | 14 | |||||
| Cancer.Malignant Disease | 371 | 321 | 428 | 432 | 38? | 419 | 1.800 |
| Rheumatic Fever | 6 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 0.009 |
| Meningitis | 9 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0.013 |
| Organic Heart Disease | 591 | 780 | 749 | 770 | 777 | 782 | 3.359 |
| Bronchitis,Acute and Chro | nic 93 | 45 | 44 | 50 | 49 | 47 | 0.202 |
| Pneumonia | 199 | 120 | 185 | 179 | 150 | 151 | 0.649 |
| Other Diseases of the | |||||||
| Respiratory Organs | 24 | 29 | 23 | 12 | 25 | 13 | O.056 |
| Diarrhoea and Enteritis | 18 | 29 | 31 | 45 | 29 | 23 | 0.099 |
| Appendicitis | 23 | 48 | 18 | 23 | 15 | 15 | 0.063 |
| Cirrhosis of Liver | 5 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 0.052 |
| Alcoholism | 5 | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.004 |
| Nephritis & Bright's Disease | 75 | 66 | 89 | 84 | 72 | 63 | 0.276 |
| Puerperal Fever | 5 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.009 |
| Other diseases & accidents of pregnancy & parturition | 8 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0.009 |
| Congenital Debility and Malformation | 33 | 87 | 63 | 105 | 64 | 71 | 0.305 |
| Premature Birth | 34 | ||||||
| Violent deaths (excluding suicide) | g 91 | 85 | 85 | 102 | 78 | 77 | 0.331 |
| Suicide | 37 | 26 | 29 | 30 | 43 | 28 | 0.120 |
| Other Defined Diseases | 688 | 567 | 570 | 634 | 595 | 062 | 2.844 |
| Diseases Ill-defined or Unknown | 3 | - | - | 2 | - | 3 | 0.013 |
| TOTAL | 2,571 | 2,453 | 2,590 2,800 | 2,496 | 2,257 | ||
1939 showed a slight increase both in the general death rate and in the
birth rate, and a fall in the infant mortality rate to the lowest figure yet
recorded.
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