[Report 1957] / Medical Officer of Health, Liskeard R.D.C.

  • Liskeard (England). Rural District Council.
Date:
1957
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1957] / Medical Officer of Health, Liskeard R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    RURAL DISTRICT OF LISKEARD THE ANNUAL REPORT of the MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH for the Year 1957 To the Chairman and Members of the Rural District Council of Liskeard, Mr. Chairman, Mrs. Tregarthen and Gentlemen, During the year 1957 the estimated total population of the Health Area increased by 220 as compared with 1956. There was a sizeable increase of 330 in Torpoint U.D. with smaller increases of 40 in Looe U.D. and 10 in Liskeard M.B. The estimated population fell by 60 in Liskeard R.D., 50 in St. Germans R.D. and 50 in Saltash M.B. Generally speaking there is in this part of Cornwall a small excess of live births over deaths, but in 1957 the position was reversed, and the total of live births — 691 —was one less than the total for deaths. The birth rate for the Health Area was 15.4 per 1,000 of population as compared with the national figure of 16.1 per 1,000. The still birth rate at 17.1 per 1,000 total births was below the national figure of 22.4. The infant mortality rate at 17.4 per 1,000 live births was also below the figure of 23.0 for England and Wales. I am glad to be able to report that during 1957 there were no maternal deaths. During the year deaths in the Health Area totalled 692, an increase of 40 on the 1956 total. The death rate at 12.2 per 1,000 of the population was slightly above the national rate of 11.5. The average age at death was 67 years for males, a small reduction on last year’s figure of 68 years. That for females was 73 years, the same as in 1956. Both figures are very close to those given by the Registrar General in the most recently published Abridged Life Tables for 1956 for England and Wales. Of the 692 persons who died during the year, 352 or 51 % had attained or exceeded the age of 75 years at the time of death. The most prevalent cause of death was heart disease with various forms of cancer again holding second place Of defined cancerous conditions, that affecting the windpipe and lung was most numerous although showing some reduction on the figure for 1956. It is again interesting to note that of the 21 persons who died as the result of accidents, in only 4 were motor vehicles implicated. In recent years, and more particularly in my Annual Reports for 1956, I have written about the increase in deaths from bronchial and lung cancer and the probable connection between this disease and prolonged and/or heavy consumption of tobacco, especially in the form of cigarettes. There have been no great developments in the investigations which are going on into this important subject. I think it is generally agreed that as the factors which cause these cancers probably act over the course of many years, the answers to the various problems posed by this disease will require the marshalling of facts and figures, over a long period before confident and generally accepted recommendations for prevention can be put forward. In the meantime the available evidence continues to suggest that cigarette smoking is the principal culprit, and one feels bound to continue to advise young adults to leave the tobacco habit alone since this is much more easily done than trying to break with it when once it has become firmly established.