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26 to Measles and 18 to Scarlet Fever. 122 deaths occurred in
children under two years of age. The birth-rate cannot be
computed, for, as the recorder observes for a later year "it is
to be regretted that so many of the poor neglect to register the
birth of their children."
With this background in mind, 1 emphasise the following
items from the year under review: —
VITAL STATISTICS.
Population.
The Registrar-General's estimate of 247,000 shows an increase
of over 4,000 in the figure for last year and over 3,000 on
that for 1938.
Births.
The birth-rate fell to 18.2 per 1,000 of the population. The
peak of the post-war years appears over.
Deaths.
A crude death-rate of 10.7 per 1,000 of the population is
commendably low. It cannot be compared fairly with former
years or other localities since the "crude " death-rate depends
not only upon the state of health of the population concerned,
but also on its composition as regards sex and age groups. Since
1938, the Registrar - General has been unable to supply local
"comparability "factors. It is probable that if such data were
available Croydon's death-rate for 1948 would be the lowest in
its records. Of the causes of death, diseases of the heart and
blood vessels continued to rank first, with cancer second.
Infant Mortality.
The death-rate per 1,000 live births, of infants under one
year of age was 27. This is the lowest figure ever recorded in
Croydon.
Maternal Mortality.
With a figure of 0.44 per 1,000 total births, a new low record
has been achieved. The small numbers involved in calculating
this figure, allow considerable fluctuation from year to year. The
overall tendency for the last few years is a steady diminution in
the risk of maternal death in child-birth.
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