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Death-Rates.
No. of
Year. Deaths. Friern Barnet. England & Wales.
1956 505 9.7 11.7
1957 483 9.6 11.5
1958 404 9.0 11.7
1959 425 10.5 11.6
1960 373 9.5 11.5
MORTALITY.
General Mortality.
Once again, diseases of the heart and circulation
made up the greatest single cause of death in the
District. Deaths from cancer made up the second largest
cause, the most alarming feature being, of course, the
continued increase in cancer of the lung and bronchus.
This bears out what I have already said, that modern
epidemiology must take into account all the factors
which affect health or which produce death. These
matters are, I need scarcely say, of national rather
than local importance. So far as can be ascertained,
there are no conditions existing in Friern Barnet which
especially encourage either coronary thrombosis or
lung cancer, at least in comparisicn with other parts
of the country. Health education must still remain
our most powerful weapon in the fight against these
two very serious diseases. I myself have written
on coronary thrombosis on a number of occasions, while
the County Health Education Officer is paying particular
attention to schools in an attempt to persuade children
to resist the temptation to start smoking. This
would seem to be the most profitable line of approach,
and it is sincerely to be hoped that efforts made in
this direction will have their effect on future generations
.
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