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 1934
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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These figures for Shoreditch, and for London respectively, are given along with the corresponding figures for children under one year of age in the following table:—
| Deaths under two years. | Deaths under one year. | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number. | Rate per 1,000 population | Rate per 1,000 births. | Total number. | Rate per 1,000 population | Rate per 1,000 births. | Percentage of deaths under 1 yr. | ||||||||
| 1933. | 1934. | 1933. | 1934. | 1933. | 1934. | 1933. | 1934. | 1933. | 1934. | 1933. | 1934. | 1933. | 1934. | |
| London | 658 | 713 | 0.15 | 0.17 | 11.6 | 10.8 | 600 | 669 | 0.14 | 0.16 | 9.58 | 10.5 | 17.8 | 17.7 |
| Shoreditch | 22 | 31 | 0.24 | 0.34 | 14.7 | 21.3 | 21 | 28 | 0.22 | 0.31 | 17.2 | 19.2 | 19.1 | 22.9 |
The disease "diarrhœa and enteritis" occurring in children under two years
of age is often termed "summer diarrhœa." True summer diarrhœa is, however,
a disease which occurs towards the latter end of a hot summer and persists during
the early autumn. The frequency of this condition bears very little relation to the
actual numbers of deaths certified as due to " diarrhœa and enteritis."
This statement is borne out by the following table, which shows the actual numbers of deaths which were certified as due to enteritis and other conditions respectively in the four years 1931-1934:—
| 1931. | 1932. | 1933. | 1934. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enteritis | 20 | 13 | 11 | 19 |
| Broncho-pneumonia and enteritis | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| Bronchitis and enteritis | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Marasmus and enteritis | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Convulsions and enteritis | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| Prematurity or debility from birth and enteritis | – | – | – | 1 |
| Skin conditions and enteritis | — | 1 | — | — |
| Other conditions and enteritis | — | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Percentage of true enteritis | 33 | 26 | 22 | 31 |
| 60.6 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 61.3 |
The deaths which were certified as due to enteritis alone were possibly not
associated with any other condition, but in all the other instances the enteritis was
probably a complication of the primary condition which is stated in the table. It
is seen that true enteritis cases make up approximately 50 to 60 per cent. of all
deaths due to diarrhœa and enteritis which are certified in any one year.
The following table shows the monthly incidence of the deaths of true enteritis
in the four years 1931-1934. The table shows that the seasonal incidence in these
small samples was quite unimportant apart from the fact that a slightly larger
number of deaths occurred in July, 1931. The conclusion that must be drawn