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
Heston and Isleworth 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Heston and Isleworth]
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A progressive change is taking place in the percentage age distribution of deaths and this is shown in the following table:—
| 1910-14 | 1940-44 | 1945-49 | 1950 | 1951 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 21.8 | 7.8 | 5.3 | 2.8 | 2.0 |
| 1-4 years | 8.4 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| 5-14 years | 3.8 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| 15-24 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.7 |
| 25-64 years | 30.8 | 35.2 | 33.0 | 33.1 | 32.9 |
| 65 years and over | 31.5 | 51.0 | 56.7 | 62.0 | 63.4 |
The chief causes of death in males were heart and circulatory diseases (166), cancer (112), bronchitis
and pneumonia (72), and cerebral haemorrhage (45). In females the chief causes of death were heart and
circulatory diseases (162), cerebral haemorrhage (105), cancer (76) and bronchitis and pneumonia (50).
In the following table deaths in the Borough from cancer of the lung and from pulmonary tuberculosis are shown:—
Deaths Due to
| Cancer of the Lung | Pulmonary Tuberculosis | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | M | F | Total | Rate per 1,000 pop. | M | F | Total | Rate per 1,000 pop. |
| 1940 | 13 | 4 | 17 | 0.17 | 31 | 23 | 54 | 0.55 |
| 1941 | 17 | 6 | 23 | 0.24 | 45 | 23 | 68 | 0.72 |
| 1942 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 0.18 | 34 | 23 | 57 | 0.60 |
| 1943 | 21 | 3 | 24 | 0.25 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 0.45 |
| 1944 | 21 | 1 | 22 | 0.24 | 30 | 11 | 41 | 0.44 |
| 1945 | 19 | 6 | 25 | 0.26 | 26 | 17 | 43 | 0.45 |
| 1946 | 31 | 9 | 40 | 0.38 | 25 | 21 | 46 | 0.44 |
| 1947 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 0.21 | 26 | 21 | 47 | 0.44 |
| 1948 | 23 | 6 | 29 | 0.27 | 22 | 13 | 35 | 0.33 |
| 1949 | 35 | 6 | 41 | 0.38 | 22 | 10 | 32 | 0.30 |
| 1950 | 24 | 4 | 28 | 0.26 | 21 | 15 | 36 | 0.34 |
| 1951 | 34 | 4 | 38 | 0.36 | 18 | 8 | 26 | 0.24 |
It is customary to look upon the infectious diseases as taking the greatest toll of child life but the following table shows that the position is changing in the Borough:—
| Accidental Deaths | Deaths due to Infectious Disease | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road Traffic | Other Accidents | Total | Tuberculosis | Other infections | Total | |||||
| 0-4 yrs. | 5-14 yrs. | 0-4 yrs. | 5-14 yrs. | 0-4 yrs. | 5-14 yrs. | 0-4 yrs. | 5-14 yrs. | |||
| 1940 | - | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 13 |
| 1941 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| 1942 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | 6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 17 |
| 1943 | — | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | — | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 1944 | — | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | 6 | — | 7 |
| 1945 | — | 1 | 2 | — | 3 | 1 | — | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 1946 | — | 2 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 3 |
| 1947 | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | 3 | 6 | 1 | 10 |
| 1948 | — | — | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | 1 | — | 1 | 2 |
| 1949 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | 5 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 1950 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1951 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 27 | 36 | 28 | 48 | |||||||
| Total | 63 | 76 | ||||||||
It is obvious that while deaths from infectious disease are falling in number accidental deaths are
showing no similar change. It should be realised that (a) more children under 15 years are killed in their
own homes than die from accidental causes elsewhere, including road accidents and (b) more children
under 15 years die from accidents in the home than die from any single infectious disease. While considering
fatal accidents the prolonged illness and crippling that may follow serious non-fatal accidents
should not be forgotten. All investigations into the causes of home accidents show that the human factor
is responsible for a large proportion and that most accidents are preventable. Here is a rich field o
preventive medicine in which parents, general practitioners, Health Department staffs, architects, heating
and lighting engineers, etc., can all play their part.
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