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172
STATISTICAL REVIEW OF TUBERCULOSIS IN THE
BOROUGH FROM 1920 TO 1936.
It was thought that a complete review of the tuberculosis question
with regard to the statistics of tuberculosis in the Borough might be of
interest and prove instructive as to the degree of progress which has
been made in this branch of work.
It must be emphasised that though the figures given are correct in
actual fact for any one year, extraneous factors may lead to false conclusions
if the following graphs are not regarded as evidence of the
general trend of events.
In each graph the figures have been worked out on a basis of the
population of 100,000, as the population of the Borough has been
gradually diminishing during the period under review except in the
peak years of 1925 and 1926.
It will be noticed that the improvement in the death rate from
tuberculosis has extended over the whole period, but it has been most
satisfactory and progressive during the last few years. One can only
surmise that this is the result of the recent progress in the technique
of treatment of the disease and the gradual improvement of the living
conditions of the people.
GRAPH No. 1.
It will be seen that the number of notifications of pulmonary
tuberculosis has considerably diminished during the period under review
2nd the deaths have decreased to an even greater extent.
The high death rate from 1920 to 1924 may be ascribed to the
immediate after effects of the Great War. The second high level of
death rate from 1929 to 1931 may have some relation to the industrial
depression at that time.
The gradual decrease of the population must signify the lessening
of the overcrowding in the Borough, and this also had some effect.