London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Dagenham 1931

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Dagenham]

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53
however, reflected in the register. The figures on the register per
100.000 population for each of the five years 1927 to 1931 were,
for pulmonary cases, 853, 775, 768, 784, 827, and for non-pulmonary
cases, 289, 297. 310, 349 and 386. The corresponding figures for
the country as a whole in 1929 were 629 and 241, from which it can
be seen that the local rate is higher.
It was, however, considered that more reliable figures for
purposes of comparison could be obtained from the deaths registered.
One disadvantage, of course, is that persons dying of tuberculosis
do not die in the homes in which they contracted the disease. Any
effect in this way should be to make the local figures lower than the
true ones, as persons would possibly return to their old quarters in
London before dying. Another disadvantage when using these
figures to judge the effect of housing is that, to some extent, the
population is a selected one in that some people have come to live
here either because they are suffering from or are contacts of cases
of tuberculosis. In recent years, however, the number of transfers
has been less than the number of cases which would normally occur
in the transferred population.
The following table shows the mortality from pulmonary
tuberculosis per million of population of the whole district compared
with the rates for England and Wales ; in the one column comparison
is made with the standardised population, the other column
giving the crude rate:—

The following table shows the mortality from pulmonary tuberculosis per million of population of the whole district compared with the rates for England and Wales ; in the one column comparison is made with the standardised population, the other column giving the crude rate:—s

Local.Per Million Living.
Kngland and Wales Standardised.England and Wales Crude.
1927545744791
1928692709755
1929741738793
1930692685739
1931968

The diminishing difference is partly to be accounted for by the
altering ratio the original rural population bears to the total. The
figures, however, are not comparable owing to the different age
constitutions of the populations compared.
The following table rectifies this as it shows the comparison of
ocal (Estate population) and general deaths per 100,000 population
at various age-groups. For this purpose, the figures of deaths and
of Imputation for the five years, 1927 to 1931, have been taken:—