Public health in 1948 : Remarkable statistics. The first months of the National Health Service
1950-03-31 1950 1950s 8 pages Decline in Mortality. Dr. Percy Stocks, Chief Medical Statistician of the General Register Office, compares the vital statistics of 1948 with those of 1938, the last full year of peace, and that which had the lowest standardized mortality of any year before the second w...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
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| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
31 March 1950
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/72DE5994-4E57-4BCA-AC00-99D15FA4C098 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/6303AB03-0E0E-44D3-A656-2D2F0A4DC83B |
| Summary: | 1950-03-31
1950
1950s
8 pages
Decline in Mortality. Dr. Percy Stocks, Chief Medical Statistician of the General Register Office, compares the vital statistics of 1948 with those of 1938, the last full year of peace, and that which had the lowest standardized mortality of any year before the second world war. He shows how great during these ten years has been the fall in death rates at almost every period of life. The relative decrease is greatest at ages 5-10 (59.9 per cent) and next greatest at 10-15 (50 per cent), school children's death rates being less than half of what they were ten years ago. At ages under 5, the decrease was 43 per cent, for adolescents (15 to 20) 35 per cent and, at 20 25, it was 44 per cent for men and 31 per cent for women. Even at ages over 75, in which only slight falls had occurred between 1938 and 1947, the death rates fell sharply in 1948 for each sex. The comparative mortality index at all ages (which allows for the changing age constitution) showed a 20 per cent decline, somewhat greater for females than for males. Among the principal causes of death the two showing the most pronounced falls were influenza, and enteritis and diarrhoea, the latter less than half the average over many years. The case-fatality of measles and whooping cough, though both were very prevalent, fell to record low levels. There were marked reductions in deaths from cerebrospinal fever, diphtheria, nervous diseases, bronchitis, pneumonia and infantile diseases. The comparative mortality indices (1938 unit) for tuberculosis were 0.826 (all foms) and 0.862 (respiratory); for pneumonia 0.525 and for diabetes 0.567. [Pp.2 and 3] The deaths from cancer, however, increased, as is described in a later paragraph, [Pp. 3, 9, 67 and 229] The vital statistics of mothers and infants. The birth rate (17.8), though lower than 1946 and 1947 was well above the other mean annual rates since 1931. Despite this high birth rate and all the pressure on maternity staff and accommodation, infant mortality fell by as much as 17 per cent from 1947 (itself a low record) to 34 per 1,000. In 1938, it was 53, and the 1948 rate is only 22 per cent of what it was 50 years ago. The neonatal death rate and the infant death rate due to premature birth both fell substantially to make further low records, and the still-birth rate of 23.2 per 1,000 total births was yet another low record, while among children from one to five years new low records were made at each year of age. [Pp. 2 and 3 and Part 1. Ch.1.] INFECTIOUS DISEASES Influenza. The outstanding feature here was the phenomenal absence of epidemic influenza. [Pp. 3 and 42]. There was no importation of smallpox. An alaming decline in infant vaccination has occurred following the operation of Section 26 of the National Health Service Act, which repealed the Vaccination Acts, and it is estimated that during the second half of 1948 less than 20 per cent of infants were primarily vaccinated. Sir Wilson Jameson urges family doctors to do their utmost to correct this serious gap in our defences against smallpox and again points out the advantages of the multiple pressure method of vaccination. [Pp. 4 and 29] Diptheria: Success of the Immunisation Campaign. Notifications and deaths have been reduced to less than a tenth of these in the best of the years before the campaign began, corrected notifications numbering 3,560 and deaths 156. In 1938 there were 65,008 cases and 2,861 deaths. In 1941, there were 50,797 cases with 2,641 deaths and the intensive campaign of immunisation was begun late in that year. Sir Wilson, writing of this great reduction states, "Such is the reward of preventive medicine pursued with knowledge, energy and persistence." - 2 -
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |