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 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Leyton]
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18
It will be seen that the chief increases were in deaths from
influenza (38), heart disease (36), bronchitis (19), and senility (10).
On the other hand, definite decreases are shown in deaths from
other circulatory diseases (15), other diseases of the liver (12),
cancer (9), and measles (22).
Table 3, page 21, gives the official list of the principal causes
of death in the different age groups.
Graph 2 shows the variation in the death rate in Leyton since
the year 1917. The diagram shows in striking fashion the effect
of the great epidemic of Influenza in 1918, and also that of the
Influenza epidemic of 1929, which was responsible in great measure
for the increased mortality during that year.
Distribution in Wards.
The distribution of deaths and the death rates in the different wards are given below :—
| Ward. | Total Deaths. | Deaths per 1,000 of Population. |
|---|---|---|
| Leyton | 107 | 11.8 |
| Lea Bridge | 215 | 10.0 |
| Central North | 106 | 9.6 |
| ” South | 116 | 10.1 |
| Forest | 174 | 8.7 |
| Leytonstone | 185 | 13.7 |
| Grove Green | 109 | 10.5 |
| Harrow Green | 115 | 9.3 |
| Cannhall | 131 | 11.5 |
| Wanstead Slip | 87 | 10.6 |
Zymotic Death Rate.—The deaths during the year from the
seven principal zymotic diseases were as follows:—
Smallpox —
Measles 1
Diphtheria 7
Whooping Cough 2
Diarrhoea 8
Scarlet Fever —
Enteric Fever 2
The zymotic death rate for 1937 was 0.17 per thousand of the
population compared with a rate of 0.39 for the previous year.