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
Ealing 1959
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Ealing]
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55
Some of the results obtained from the investigations
are issued herewith in the form of an interim report
based on the information collected between 1958 and 1959
inclusive.
109 bronchial asthmatic children (aged 3-16 years),
55 children with chronic bronchitis (aged 4-16 years),
and a control group of children who suffered from neither
of these illnesses (aged 5-16 years) were critically
examined, In view of the small number of children in this
survey the results now presented must be accepted with
certain qualifications. It cannot be assumed that these
results are representative of those which might have been
obtained if it had been possible to examine ten or a
hundred times the actual number of cases used.
Table 1
The Constitution of the Cases Attending the Bronchial Asthma Clinic from 1958 - 1959
| 1958 | 1959 | |
|---|---|---|
| Bronchial Asthmatic Children | 50% | 64%Y |
| Chronic Bronchitic Children | 32% | |
| Children with Chest Deformities | 18%X | 4% |
(X) The rather high number of cases with chest deformities
referred to the clinic in 1958 was probably due to
the fact that the Assistant Medical Officers referred
all types of "chesty children" for treatment. They
had been advised that a special survey was to be
started during that year. Some of the children with
chest deformities did not, however, appear to have
either chronic bronchitis or bronchial asthma.
(Y) The increase in the number of cases of bronchial
asthma in 1959 is explained by a spill-over of the
cases who started treatment in 1958.
Table 2
The Incidence of Asthma and Chronic Bronchitis in Males and Females and the Composition of the
Control Group
| Males | Females | |
|---|---|---|
| Bronchial Asthmatic Children | 71.56% | 28.44% |
| Bronchial Asthmatic Adults (Z) | 33.33% | |
| Chronic Bronchitic Children | 52.73% | 47.27% |
| Control Group of Children | 53.42% | 46.58% |
(Z) A small survey was carried out on adult asthmatics
(16-22 years of age) who were former patients attending
the clinic.