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
Shoreditch 1926
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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DEATHS.
The deaths during 1926 numbered 1,298, markedly below the number for the preceding year. They were distributed in the Borough as shewn in the table below : —
| Ward. | Males. | Females. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moorfields | 37 | 19 | 56 |
| Church | 122 | 108 | 230 |
| Hoxton | 104 | 110 | 214 |
| Wenlock | 94 | 69 | 163 |
| Whitmore | 125 | 99 | 224 |
| Kingsland | 70 | 73 | 143 |
| Haggerston | 63 | 72 | 135 |
| Acton | 65 | 68 | 133 |
| Totals | 680 | 618 | 1,298 |
The deaths of males were 62 in excess of those of females, and the death-rate
amongst males was approximately 17.8 per cent. higher than amongst females.
The general death-rate is the lowest so far recorded for the Borough. It was
12.2 per 1,000 population. The causes of death and the death-rates for the Borough
and its eight Wards, together with other particulars relating to the mortality amongst
the inhabitants during 1926, are contained in Tables I, III, IV, V and VI (Appendix).
The death-rate averaged above the mean rate for the year during the first four
months, and it was again above the mean during the last two months of the year.
The rate was lowest during the month of June, the average being 7.8 per 1,000. The
highest point touched was during the first week of December, when the rate was 22.4
per 1,000 population. Diseases of the respiratory organs were largely contributory
to the elevation of the rate during the latter part of the year.
The deaths amongst infants under one year numbered 167, of which 87 were of
males. They amounted to 12.8 per cent. of the deaths from all causes, as compared
with 16.3 for 1925. The mortality amongst infants under one year was at the rate
of 66 per 1,000 births registered during the year. This is the lowest infantile
mortality rate so far recorded for Shoreditch. The infantile mortalities for recent
years were 88 in 1925, 87 in 1924, 82 in 1923, 102 in 1922, 114 in 1921 and 91 in 1920.
When compared with the rates prevalent twenty to thirty years ago, the decline in
the infantile mortality of the Borough during recent years is very striking. The
infantile mortality amongst males was 70 as compared with 62 amongst females.
The chief causes of death amongst infants under a year were : prematurity, atrophy
debility and marasmus, pneumonia and diarrhoea and enteritis.
In Table IV (Appendix), the causes of death amongst infants under one year are
given, together with the ages in weeks and months and the nett deaths and births
amongst legitimate and illegitimate infants,