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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186
It will be seen that the percentage incidence of defects among
girls (30.6 per cent.) is much greater than among boys (19.7 per
cent.). When comparison is made between the percentage incidence
of defect of elementary and secondary school children it is
found that 19.2 per cent. of elementary school children and 23.7 per
cent. of secondary school children examined during the year were
found to require treatment. The incidence of defect among secondary
school pupils was also greater than among senior department
pupils in Leyton elementary schools. As the medical examinations
were conducted by the same medical officers in each case the
figures are significant.
With regard to individual defects, of 619 secondary school
pupils submitted to routine medical inspection, 100 (16.1 per cent.)
were found to be suffering from defective vision. This defective
vision incidence rate of 16.1 per cent. is greatly in excess of the
comparative rate of 4.9 per cent. found among elementary school
children during the same year.
As far as the state of nutrition is concerned, however, the secondary school pupils compare very favourably with children attending elementary schools, as is shown by the following figures based on the four official grades of nutrition.
| State of Nutrition | Secondary Schools | Elementary Schools |
|---|---|---|
| A Excellent | 48.4 per cent. | 18.4 per cent. |
| B Normal | 46.5 per cent. | 61.2 per cent. |
| C Slightly subnormal | 5 per cent. | 19.3 per cent. |
| D Bad | Nil | 0.9 per cent. |
Another type of defect from which the secondary school pupils
suffered relatively badly was dental defect. Of 931 pupils inspected,
802 (86 per cent.) were found to require dental treatment. The
comparative incidence figure for dental defects among elementary
school children was 68 per cent. Your Senior Dental Surgeon
deals with this subject in his report (see page 138).