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
Battersea 1922
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Battersea, Metropolitan Borough of]
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18
It will be seen from an examination of the above table that on
grouping the principal diseases of infancy, the percentage ratios of
these groups are as follows: Developmental Diseases (Prematurity,
&c.). 38.6; Respiratory Diseases, 24.0; Infectious Diseases (including
Diarrhoea and Enteritis), 17.3; Atelectasis, Convulsions and
overlying, 8.3 per cent.; Tuberculous Meningitis, 2.4; and other
miscellaneous causes (including 2 deaths from Sarcoma), 9.4.
Illegitimate Infant Deaths.
The death-rate amongst illegitimate children during 1922
was 179.7 per 1,000 births, as compared with 183.2 in 1921. The
corresponding death-rate of legitimate infants in 1922 was 65.0,
the ratio of the mortality-rate of illegitimate infants to that of
legitimate being 2.76 to 1.
The following table shows (a) the legitimate and illegitimate births and deaths, (b) the ratio of illegitimate to legitimate births, (c) the deaths per 1,000 legitimate and illegitimate infant births respectively, and (d) the ratio of the illegitimate infant mortality rate to that of legitimate infants during the past 5 years:—
| Year. | Births. | Ratio of Illeg. to Legit. Births. | Deaths. (Infants under 1 year.) | Deaths per 1,000 Births. | Ratio of Illeg. I.M.R. to Legit. I.M.R. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legit. | Illeg. | Legit. | Illeg. | Legit. | Illeg. | |||
| 1918 | 2,529 | 171 | .068 | 226 | 41 | 89.4 | 239.8 | 2.68 |
| 1919 | 2,916 | 159 | .055 | 204 | 24 | 70.0 | 150.9 | 2.16 |
| 1920 | 4,509 | 160 | .035 | 358 | 28 | 79.4 | 175.0 | 2.20 |
| 1921 | 3,611 | 131 | .036 | 252 | 24 | 69.8 | 183.2 | 2.62 |
| 1922 | 3,537 | 128 | .036 | 231 | 23 | 65.0 | 179.7 | 2.76 |
| Average 1918-1922 | 3,420 | 150 | .044 | 254 | 28 | 74.3 | 186.7 | 2.51 |
The table shows that the ratio of births registered as illegitimate
to legitimate births registered has remained almost stationary
during the past three years, although it is still lower than the
average for the past 5 years. On the other hand the ratio of the
illegitimate infant mortality rate to that of legitimate infants has
risen slightly in the past 3 years, and in 1922 was 10 per cent.
higher than the average ratio for the 5 years. It would therefore
seem that the reduction in the rate of infant mortality has been
confined, so far as the past few years are concerned, entirely to
legitimate infants.