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
Dagenham 1932
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Dagenham]
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To determine whether such differences as exist have any
statistical significance, use is made of the relationship between these
differences, the probable error, and the standard deviation. The
following table shows the mean weights of children of each sex at
three monthly periods, the standard deviation and probable error.
Mean Weights, Standard Deviations, Probable Errors, 3 month periods.
| Age. 3/12 periods inclusive. | London Boys. | Becontree Boys. | London Girls. | Becontree Girls. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 11/12— 5 1/12 | Mean Weight Standard Deviation Probable Error | *(50) 41.1 lbs. | *(47) 40.5 lbs. | *(33) 40.15 lbs. | *(45) 39.0lbs. |
| 4.21 | 4.1 | 4.15 | 4.63 | ||
| .40 | .40 | .487 | .465 | ||
| 5 2/12— 5 4/12 | Mean Weight Standard Deviation Probable Error | *(93) 42.5 lbs. | *(94) 40.2 lbs. | *(119) 39.1 lbs. | *(94) 39.5 lbs. |
| 4.12 | 4.29 | 4.789 | 4.522 | ||
| .288 | .298 | .296 | .314 | ||
| 5 5/12— 5 7/12 | Mean Weight Standard Deviation Probable Error | *(109) 41.3 lbs. | *(103) 42.5 lbs. | *(122) 41.0 lbs. | *(104) 40.2 lbs. |
| 4.04 | 5.28 | 5.36 | 4.497 | ||
| .26 | .35 | .327 | .297 | ||
| 5 8/12— 5 10/12 | Mean Weight Standard Deviation Probable Error | *(H8) 43.3 lbs. | *(83) 42.7 lbs. | *(132) 41.3 lbs. | *(112) 41.0 lbs. |
| 4.72 | 4.658 | 4.49 | 4.421 | ||
| .29 | .345 | .26 | .28 | ||
| 5 11/12— 6 1/12 | Mean Weight Standard Deviation Probable Error | *(129) 44.4 lbs. | *(72) 44.0 lbs. | *(126) 42.8 lbs. | *(87) 42.5 lbs. |
| 5.128 | 3.966 | 4.858 | 4.97 | ||
| .302 | .315 | .29 | .359 |
*The numbers in brackets are the numbers of children in each group.
It will be seen that in none of the groups is the difference ol
the mean more than 3 times the square root of the sums of the
probable errors, so that any differences occurring between the two
groups are no more than might have been produced by mere chance.
The conclusion is, therefore, that this investigation tails to show
that any appreciable difference exists in the heights and the weights
of the child of 5 years of age who has lived the bulk of his time in
London and the child of the same age who was born and has been
brought up on the Becontree Estate.