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MEDICAL OFFICER'S ANNUAL REPORT SHEET 5 OF DRAFT
remained constant over a large period of years. It will therefore
be seen that the deathrate of this district has not varied to any
extent over a period of 30 years. It is an exceptionally favourable
one and shows that if the population was constant as to age and sex
distribution and stationary in number the average length of life
would be 85 years. It is a fact that the deaths of residents in this
district are mostly those of persons well above the age of 65 and it
is not uncommon to have the death of persons registered at the age of
90 and over. Whilst our deathrate has remained low and constant, that
for England and Wales has greatly decreased, but the latter is not
yet as low as the rate for this District.
With regard to the infantile mortality rate it will be noticed that
we have practically halved this rate in a period of 30 years whereas
that for E. & W. for the same period has been reduced only one third.
It will be seen that these reductions have taken place since 1910
a period that corresponds to the period of practical effort to reduce
child mortality carried out throughout the country and with particularly
encouraging results. With regard to the rates shown for the
years 1920 onwards one should not draw any definite conclusions from
them, for one thing the numbers on which they are based are small
and there may be a possible error of 2% more or less. The populations
too on which they are based are ESTIMATED and of course an
error in this estimate is reflected in the rates computed from it.
BIRTHS,
These numbered 239 giving a crude birth rate of 14.5 the lowest
ever recorded for this district. The number of births assigned to
the district by the Registrar General is 272 giving a corrected birth
rate of 16.5 compared with that for England & Wales of 18.3.
The difference between the number of births registered in the
District and the number assigned to it is accounted for by the fact
that certain cases of pregnancy from the District are treated in the
London Hospitals and we have no record of these until the middle of
March of the following year. The number of births notified was 244
a notification of 90% only compared, with 95% in 1924.
DEATHS.
The number of deaths registered in the district was 285 of these
189 were of persons not belonging to the district. The number of
persons belonging to the district but dying outside were 63, giving
the number of nett deaths assignable to the district of 159. This
gives a nett deathrate of 9.65 per 1000 and a corrected deathrate of
9.66 compared with 8.85 for 1924. The figure for England & Wales for
1925 is 12.2. Although the general deathrate is somewhat higher
than last year, the number of deaths at the age period 15-45 is very
low and there is also a diminution of the number of deaths of infants.
CAUSES OF DEATH.
Measles, Scarlet Fever, & Diphtheria, None.
Tuberculosi s
11 Pulmonary) 13 in all, a very satisfactory figure.
2 Non-Pulmonary)
The deathrate from this disease has not varied to any extent sincs
1891 in this district although the rate for the whole country has
been practically halved in the same time. My remarks in the report
for 1922 still hold good.
Cancer.
This disease is still one of the chief causes of death at middle life
and continues to baffle the efforts of research workers to find
a cause and cure. Early diagnosis and surgery appears to be the only
available means of mitigating the misery caused by the disease.