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have got raised blood pressure of more or less severity. They die mostly from heart
failure and stroke; this corresponds to the expected 50 per cent. mortality rate
(mostly old people) found in the table of causes of death. Blood pressure tends
to rise with age especially in women, and as it rises the victims are afflicted with
two, three or four illnesses or disabilities concurrently.
Prevention.
We need to investigate further the diets and habits of these people to see
if we can determine more accurately the probable associations. In the meantime
two useful preventive measures would be to encourage by health education
the consumption of a diet sufficient in proteins and minerals, and to warn
people of the dangers of obesity, and to show them how to slim and to control
their weights.
Acknowledgements.
Dr. Smith and I acknowledge with grateful thanks the assistance we have
received from many people during the course of this research. We would
specially like to mention Dr. O. Olbrich and his staff of doctors, nurses and
laboratory technicians in the Geriatric Department of the Sunderland General
Hospital. Also Sir Edward Bullard the Director of the National Physical
Laboratory for permission, and Dr. E. T. Goodwin, Mr. T. Vickers, Miss Rigg
and the staff of the Mathematics Division for assistance, in punching cards and
sorting and the extraction of the latent roots and vectors of the matrix of
correlations in the factor analysis.
PEST DESTRUCTION
The service provided by the Health Department enables residents in the
Borough to obtain advice as to the identification and method of eradication
of a wide variety of insect pests, as well as the normal work of the department
connected with rodent destruction.
In one large restaurant kitchen there had been recurring infestations by
the common cockroach. On the advice of this department one of the new
insecticides Urea Formaldehyde containing Dieldrin and Aldrin was applied
and a hundred per cent, clearance was effected.
The income from pest destruction for the year was £85 4s. 2d.
KEEPING THE BOROUGH CLEAN
I am obliged to Mr. A. S. Knolles, the Borough Surveyor, for the following
report about drainage, sewerage and public cleansing :—
Drainage and Sewerage.
No works of major improvement have been possible because of the continued
restriction of capital expenditure.
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