[Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Bradford City / County Borough.

  • Bradford (West Yorkshire, England). Metropolitan District Council.
Date:
1955
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Bradford City / County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/216 (page 14)
    respect of the early ascertainment of the pregnancy toxaemias. Out standing work at St. Luke’s Maternity Hospital has shown the neec for weekly examination of certain expectant mothers after the 24tl week of pregnancy. This has already been arranged for women bookec for hospital confinement and is about to be extended to women confinec in their own homes. In this way it is hoped that by the early ascertain- ment of incipient toxaemias the affected patients may be removed tc hospital and given appropriate treatment with beneficent effect on both mother and child. For the successful completion of this scheme, it wil be necessary for an increased number of ante-natal beds to be madt available at St. Luke’s Maternity Hospital. Although much can still be done, therefore, to reduce deaths anc sickness in early life, it can be claimed that largely morbidity anc mortality in this age group can and have been brought under some degree of control. This is very much so as far as the communicabU diseases are concerned with the exception of poliomyelitis, though ir, this disease also the outlook is encouraging. The same cannot be saidj however, with respect to the conditions causing sickness and death ii the middle and older age groups. These conditions are broadly the degenerative diseases associated with the ageing process. The mos typical is arterio-sclerosis which is responsible for an increasing numbe of deaths in middle-aged men. Diseases of the heart and arteries ar responsible for about half of all the deaths which take place, and ove the years there has been little or no decrease in the total. In certaii categories there has been, in fact, an increase. Deaths from coronar thrombosis, for example, in Bradford, have increased from 528 in 195' to 628 in 1955, and of these 180 were deaths of persons under 65 year of age. Diseases of the lung also make a large contribution to the death occurring in the older age groups, and deaths from bronchitis show litti: or no decrease. On the average about 250 deaths each year are attr i butable to this cause and a most disquieting feature is the stead increase year by year of deaths from cancer of the lung. There wei 130 deaths from this cause compared with 62 in 1946. As yet, conclusive proof as to the causation of these diseases whic take such a toll of the middle-aged and elderly is not forthcomin{ but evidence is slowly accumulating to incriminate certain factors £ possible, or even probable, causes. For example, dietary habits, i particular fat consumption, are thought to be a factor in the productic of arterial disease and its consequences such as coronary thrombos and cerebral thrombosis and premature ageing.