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
Kingston upon Thames 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]
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6
3. Extracts from Vital Statistics of the Year.
The crude birth and death rates for local areas cannot
properly be compared by reason of the fact that the populations
on which they are based may be of widely differing sex and age
constitutions. Consequently the Registrar General provides
a comparability factor for each area. When the crude rate
of any area is multiplied by this factor an adjusted rate is
produced which can be used to compare with the adjusted rate
of any other area, or with the crude death rate for England
and Wales as a whole (where the comparability factor is unity).
The comparability factors for Kingston are Births .95
Deaths 86.
The various birth and death rates in respect of the
town are shown below and for the purpose of providing some
comparison the Birth and Death Rates for England and Wales
are also shown below. It will be noticed that both the
adjusted rates for Kingston are lower than for the country
as a whole.
This is a consequence of the physical features of the town and its lack of new building space, and to some extent tends to leave us with a population with a diminished birth rate.
| (a) Live Births - | Total | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legitimate Illegitimate | 564 45 | 290 24 | 274 21 |
| 609 | 214 | 2.95 | |
| Birth Rate per 1,000 population (Crude Birth | 15.25 | ||
| Adjusted Birth Rate | 14.5 | ||
| England and Wales Birth Rate | 15.5 | ||
| (b) Still Births - | Total | Male | Female |
| Legitimate Illegitimate | 18 1 | 12 1 | 6 |
| 19 | 13 | ||
| Rate per 19000 total (live and still) births | 30.25 | ||