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
Harrow 1947
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Harrow]
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| Male | Female | Male | Female | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typhoid fever | 0 | 0 | Heart disease | 235 | 241 |
| Cerebro-spinal fever | 0 | 1 | Other circ. diseases | 36 | 44 |
| Scarlet fever | 0 | 0 | Bronchitis | 58 | 41 |
| Whooping cough | 1 | 3 | Pneumonia | 46 | 40 |
| Diphtheria | 0 | 0 | Other resp. diseases | 18 | 15 |
| Resp. tuberculosis | 40 | 29 | Ulcer of stomach | 12 | 3 |
| Other tuberculosis | 3 | 4 | Diarrhoea under 2 years | 0 | 6 |
| Syphilitic diseases | 8 | 10 | Appendicitis | 2 | 2 |
| Influenza | 4 | 4 | Other digestive diseases | 15 | 18 |
| Measles | 1 | 0 | Nephritis | 26 | 24 |
| Acute poliomyelitis | 1 | 1 | Puerperal sepsis | 0 | 1 |
| Acute encephalitis | 1 | 0 | Other maternal causes | 0 | 3 |
| Cancer of mouth and oesophagus (M), and uterus (F) | 12 | 12 | Premature birth | 15 | 3 |
| Cong. malformations, etc. | 22 | 22 | |||
| Cancer of stomach | 26 | 24 | Suicide | 13 | 6 |
| Cancer of breast | 0 | 45 | Road traffic accidents | 15 | 4 |
| Cancer of other sites | 109 | 105 | Other violent causes | 14 | 20 |
| Diabetes | 2 | 8 | All other causes | 76 | 75 |
| Intra-cran. lesions | 85 | 124 | All causes | 896 | 938 |
Fifty per cent. of the deaths of the males were amongst those over
65 years of age. The corresponding figure amongst the females was
66. Put another way round, this means that while only half of the
males attained the age of 65, the proportion of females reaching this
age was two-thirds.
Fatalities from the infectious diseases again compared favourably
with the figures for the country as a whole. This year there were no
deaths from typhoid fever, scarlet fever or diphtheria. The death rate
of 0.02 per 1,000 population from whooping cough was the same as the
national rate. The rates of 0.05 for measles and 0.04 for influenza were
about half the rates for the country as a whole. The rate for diarrhoea
in those under two years of age of 1.5 per 1,000 live births compared
favourably with the national rate of 5.8.