[Report 1966] / Medical Officer of Health, Wrexham R.D.C.

  • Wrexham (Wales). Rural District Council.
Date:
1966
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1966] / Medical Officer of Health, Wrexham R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    11/56 (page 9)
    STILL BIRTHS The total of 25 still births was exactly the same as that for 1965. As in previous years, the majority were accosiatecl with congenital conditions. Congenital conditions are also responsible for a high proportion of Neo-natal deaths, particularly those in the first week of life. STILL BIRTH RATE The still birth rate of 23.54 was slightly lower than that for 1965 which was 24.61. The figures for both these years are con- siderably higher than those for England and Wales which were 15.7 in 1965 and 15.4 in 1966. The figures for England and Wales have been declining over the years and the present figure is the lowest ever recorded. As I have mentioned previously in various reports, this decline in the still birth rate is due to the ever improving maternity services in Great Britian and is, statistically speaking, in inverse ratio to the proportion of hospital, as opposed to domiciliary, confirnements DEATHS There was a total of 862 deaths during the year as compared with 749 in 1965 and 739 in 1964. Of the total, 462 were males and 400 females. The total figure shows an increase of 113 over 1965 and as in previous years, the proportion rises rapidly in age groups over 55 years. The over-all increase is mainly accounted for in the categories affecting the heart and circulation. Here, the actual increase is 60. 25 of these were associated with the disease of the coronary arteries and 17 with vascular lesions of the nervous system. Coronary artery disease, as I have often stressed before, is ever increasing in the western countries and is always associated with raised stand- ards of living. Vascular disease of the nervous system (i.e. strokes, etc.), are also increasing. This is, in all probability, due to the increased number of aged persons in the community. Another category which showed significant increase in the number of deaths was that associated with disease of the lungs, particularly Pneumonia and Bronchitis. There was in all, an increase of 15 deaths from Pneumonia and 11 from Bronchitis. The total number of deaths from Cancer actually decreased by 8 as compared with the previous year. This is unusual, to say the least, as in company with heart disease. Cancer has become one of the major causes of death in Great Britain in recent years.