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
Woolwich 1914
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Woolwich]
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The following table gives the above results in tabular form:—
| All Cancer cases. Per cent. | Cancer of mouth and throat. Per cent. | Cancer of other parts. Per cent. | Control cases (non-cancer). Per cent. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excessive alcohol drinkers | 32 | 47 | 23 | 14 |
| Do. smokers | 40 | 73 | 22 | 16 |
| Do. tea drinkers | 32 | 28 | — | 31 |
| Large eaters | 45 | — | — | 49 |
| Do. meat eaters | 30 | — | — | 29 |
| Constipation | 25 | — | — | 17 |
27 cases had cancer of the stomach. Of these 8, or 29
per cent., drank excessively, 10, or 37 per cent., were large
eaters, and 7, or 26 per cent., were large meat eaters.
As regards cancer of the bowels, out of 39 persons dying
from cancer of the intestines, 19 had a regular daily action,
19 had constipation, and 1 was not quite regular, i.e., 49
per cent. had constipation. Thus constipation seems to predispose
to cancer of the bowels.
ALCOHOLISM.
88. There were 9 deaths from alcoholism, nil from peripheral
neuritis, and 22 from cirrhosis of the liver, making
a total of 31 deaths probably due to alcohol, compared with
23, 23, 31, 23, and 18, in the five preceding years. In
addition to these, there were 423 deaths from diseases of
the brain and nervous system (excluding meningitis), heart,
blood vessels, and kidneys, of which a large proportion was
certainly caused directly or indirectly by alcohol. The deaths
from these causes in the five preceding years were 335, 343,
377, 395, and 429, respectively. The increase last year was
chiefly in deaths from heart disease.