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
Leyton 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Leyton]
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Table III.
| No. of cases Anaemia. | Haemoglobin level. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 80% | Under 85% | Under 90% | ||||
| Series I 134 | 7 cases. | 5% | 29 cases. | 21.6% | 52 cases. | 38.8% |
| Series II 79 | 12 cases. | 15.2% | 22 cases. | 27.7% | 35 cases. | 44% |
Table III shows the number and percentage of the "anaemic"
group who actually showed low haemoglobin levels.
It would be interesting to compare these results with a sample
table from all school children irrespective of health or appearance
so that we should have an idea just what percentage of the school
population as a whole suffers from hypochromic anaemia.
Defective Vision.—Of the 4,082 children subjected to routine
code group inspection in the schools, 293 (7.17 per cent.) were
found to be suffering from some eve defect requiring treatment.
Of 7,106 children referred for special inspection, 576 (8.10 per cent.) manifested some eye defect requiring treatment. The nature and incidence of such defects were:—
| Routine Inspections. | Special Inspections. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defect or Disease. | Number requiring Treatment. | Observation. | Number requiring | Treatment. | Observation. |
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) |
| Blepharitis | 33 | 5 | 100 | — |
| Conjunctivitis | 14 | — | 92 | — |
| Keratitis | — | — | 5 | — |
| Corneal opacities | — | — | 2 | — |
| Other conditions | 15 | 2 | 218 | 4 |
| Defective Vision | 203 | 134 | 143 | 8 |
| Squint | 28 | 6 | 16 | 1 |
Special Eye Clinic.—
During the year, the Ophthalmic Surgeon had referred to him
1,003 children, who made 1,523 attendances for examination and
treatment.