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
Walthamstow 1921
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]
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40
The visual acuity returns obtained for girls are, as a rule, worse on
the average than for boys.
TABLE IV.
| Age. | Hypermetropia. | HyperAstigmatism. | Myopic Group. | Totals. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 18 |
| 6 | 20 | 5 | — | 25 |
| 7 | 22 | 11 | 3 | 36 |
| 8 | 41 | 30 | 27 | 98 |
| 9 | 28 | 17 | 15 | 60 |
| 10 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 42 |
| 11 | 31 | 6 | 11 | 48 |
| 12 | 34 | 33 | 49 | 116 |
| 13 | 27 | 7 | 33 | 67 |
| 235 | 126 | 149 | 510 |
The above table shows the variation of the refractive error with
age. Considering first Hypermetropia, neglecting oscillations, we
find a decrease of from 61 to 40 per cent, in the nine years under
consideration.
Hypermetropic Astigmatism shows a steady decline from 33 to 10
per cent, in the corresponding years.
Myopia, on the contrary, shows a steady increase from 6 to 50 per
cent, in the years under consideration.
We are led to the conclusion that the diminution of the Hypermetropic
Group has been due to their transference to the Myopic
Group.
The Incidence o£ Serious Cases of Errors
of Refraction.
This table deals with errors of refraction of five dioptres or more. With such errors of refraction, more particularly when associated with Astigmatism, visual acuity is much reduced, and with the most accurate correcting lenses vision is not brought up to the normal standard.
| Boys. | Girls. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hypermetropia | 10 | 6 | 16 |
| Hypermetropic Astigmatism | 23 | 12 | 35 |
| Myopia | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Myopic Astigmatism | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 37 | 20 | 57 |