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 1961
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Harrow]
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10
The total number of deaths was 2,146. The death rate was 10.2 per
thousand population. The rates for the last five years were 8.8, 8.9, 9.2,
9.7 and 9.4. The rate for the country as a whole was 12.0.
Liability to death varies at different ages. Any changes in the agedistribution
of a population then affect the death rate. In the same way
the death rates of the sexes are not the same. To offset the effects of
these variations and so produce a rate which can be compared with that
of other districts, or that of the same district at other times, the RegistrarGeneral
calculates a comparative mortality index based on the 1951 census
population. When the death rate figure is multiplied by this, a figure is
obtained which would have been the death rate for the district had the
age and sex distribution of the population been that of the country as
a wholein 1961. The index figure is 1.16; the adjusted death rate is 11.9.
The following is the Registrar-General's abridged list of causes of death in this district:—
| Male | Female | Male | Female | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resp. tuberculosis | 3 | Other heart disease | 74 | 187 | |
| Other tuberculosis | 1 | 1 | Other circulatory disease | 68 | 86 |
| Syphilitic disease | 3 | 1 | Influenza | 10 | 8 |
| Diphtheria | — | — | Pneumonia | 41 | 41 |
| Whooping cough | — | — | Bronchitis | 85 | 31 |
| Meningococcal infections | — | 1 | Other respiratory disease | 11 | 9 |
| Acute poliomyelitis | — | — | Peptic Ulcer | 12 | 2 |
| Measles | — | — | Gastritis, enteritis | 6 | 6 |
| Other infective diseases | 2 | 3 | Nephritis | 6 | 8 |
| Cancer of stomach | 32 | 25 | Hyperplasia of prostate | 7 | — |
| Cancer of lung | 111 | 19 | Pregnancy, etc | — | 1 |
| Cancer of breast | — | 46 | Congenital Malformation | 9 | 10 |
| Cancer of uterus | — | 15 | Other diseases | 58 | 74 |
| Cancer of other sites | 104 | 99 | Motor vehicle accidents | 17 | 8 |
| Leukaemia | 11 | 10 | Other accidents | 18 | 13 |
| Diabetes | 5 | 9 | Suicide | 12 | 6 |
| Vascular diseases of nervous system | 102 | 163 | Homicide | 1 | 1 |
| Coronary disease, angina | 252 | 151 | Total | 1074 | 1072 |
| Hypertension | 13 | 32 |
1,314 deaths were due to diseases of the circulatory system, vascular
diseases of the central nervous system and to cancer, a percentage of 61
of the total deaths.
The following are the numbers of persons who were of different ages
at the time of death : under one year, 54; over one but under five years,
13; five to fourteen years, 5; fifteen to twenty-four years,16; twenty-five to
forty-four years, 52; forty-five to sixty-four years, 577; sixty-five to seventyfour
years, 518; seventy-five years and over, 908.
Of these local deaths, fifty-nine per cent of those of males were of
persons of sixty-five or over, thirty-one per cent of seventy-five and over,
and eighty-five and over eight per cent. The corresponding figures for
females were seventy-four, fifty-four and twenty. Of the local residents who