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COMPARATIVE STATISTICS, 1962
Births. The live birth rate in Merton and Morden during 1962 at
12.8 per 1,000 population is strikingly below the national figure of
18.0 per 1,000. Merton and Morden is not a depressed area with rife
unemployment, which is frequently the cause of a low birth rate, nor is
the housing shortage abnormally acute compared with many other
areas, although the position is one which everyone would like to see
improved. The preliminary report on the 1961 Census does not contain
this information, but I think that an analysis of our population in this
district will show that the proportion of women past child-bearing age
is higher than the average for the Country, which of course finds a
reflection in the birth rate.
Deaths. The total death rate of 11.8 per 1,000 compares favourably
with the national figure of 11.9, but it is noted that the incidence
of deaths from the two principal killing diseases is higher in Merton
and Morden than in the Country as a whole. This is particularly
striking in the case of Carcinoma of the lung and brochus which
causes half as many deaths again in the area as it does generally
throughout England and Wales. On the other hand, deaths from other
pulmonary conditions are of less frequent occurrence, those from Pulmonary
Tuberculosis being less than half the national figure.
The Maternal Mortality Rate and the Infant Mortality Rate are
both causes for satisfaction, although one would like to see the latter
even lower still.
Notifications. Measles is now by far the commonest notifiable
infectious disease and it is the most serious infectious disease of childhood,
for which there is still no effective immunisation.
Scarlet fever was notified at almost double the national incidence,
but this once dreaded infection has lost much of its 'sting' not only
because of improved treatment methods but because over the years
the causative agent has diminished in virulence.
The low incidence of intestinal infections compared with the
national average reflects creditably on standards of hygiene in both
food shops and in the homes of the district.
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