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 1962
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Dagenham]
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Deaths
The infant mortality rate stands at 21.61 per 1,000 live births, compared with 20.7
for England and Wales. This is less than the rates for the two previous years, but is
above the very low figure of 16.76 recorded in 1957. As is usual the mortality rate among
illegitimate infants is considerably greater than the rate for legitimate children.
The causes of death are set out in the following table:
| Cause of Death | Under 1 wk. | 1—2 wks. | 2—3 wks. | 3—4 wks. | Total under 4 wks. | 4 wks. and under 3 mo. | 3 mo. and under 6 mo. | 6 mo. and under 9 mo. | 9 mo. and under 12 mo. | Total deaths under 1 yr. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prematurity | 6 | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| Prematurity with associated cause | 2 | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 3 |
| Congenital abnormality | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 3 | - | 1 | 2 | - | 6 |
| Birth trauma | 5 | - | - | 1 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| Bronchopneumonia | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Bronchitis | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | - | 3 |
| Antepartum haemorrhage | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Rhesus incompatability | 3 | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Gastro-enteritis | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| TOTAL | 18 | 1 | - | 2 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 33 |
Among the population as a whole the principal causes of death were as follows:—
Heart disease (all forms) 300 deaths
Cancer (including leukaemia) 214 deaths
Vascular lesions of nervous system 109 deaths
Bronchitis 69 deaths
Pneumonia 52 deaths
The number of deaths due to heart disease shows an increase of 42 over the figures
recorded the previous year. The majority of deaths in this group are caused by coronary
disease and angina.
The commonest form of cancer causing death was lung cancer, there being 54 deaths
in men and 13 in women. This is an increase over the previous year, but is less than the
total recorded in 1960. The general trend over recent years, however, has been for the
number to rise; ten years ago only 26 deaths in men and 2 in women were attributed to
this cause. This is particularly tragic when one considers that this condition is believed
to be largely preventable.
It is gratifying to be able to record that for the fourth year in succession there were
no maternal deaths.
The adjusted death rate was 14.74/1,000, compared with 11.9 / 1,000 for England and
Wales.
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