[Report 1948-1949] / Medical Officer of Health, West Sussex County Council.

  • West Sussex (England). County Council.
Date:
1949
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1948-1949] / Medical Officer of Health, West Sussex County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    11/60 (page 9)
    This report showed that the percentage population of the County age 65 years and over was 16.4%, compared with 10.9% for England and Wales. The percentages of the County population in the various age groups were :— 0-5 5-15 15-25 25-35 35-45 45-55 55-65 65-75 75-85 85 + c V- 21 /o 11 °/ 11 /o ■V' J As well as affecting the birth and death rates, such a high proportion of aged people brings with it other problems in the social welfare field, and accounts in part for the increased demand now being made on the nursing and home help services. Birth Rate. In Table I the birth rates for the urban and rural districts of the County are shown for the last twelve years and, for purposes of comparison, those for England and Wales. It is to be expected that the birth rate for the County will always be lower than that for the country as a whole, owing to the age constitution of the County population. This is referred to in the notes above on Population. In Tables IV and IV (a) are shown, inter alia, the birth rates in the various County districts for 1948 and 1949. It will be noted from these that certain districts have a high birth rate and others a lowr one. This, presumably, is again due to the age constitution of their populations. Death Rate and Causes of Death. The death rate rose somewhat in 1949, but the 1948 rate was lower than that in 1947 and 1946 (Table II). Most of the increased mortality was due to diseases specially associated with old age. It is to be expected that the death rate in the County will always be higher than that for England and Wales (11.7 in 1949) owing to the age constitution of the County. It is of interest to note the incidence of death in various age groups, and for 1949 the percentages were as follows:— 65 years Under 1 year 1—5 5—15 15—45 45—65 and over 2.9% 0.5% 0.5% 4.5% 17.9% 73.7% Of the deaths in 1948 and 1949, heart disease accounted for over 30% and the majority of such cases occurred in persons over 65 years of age. Other diseases of the circulatory system accounted for many deaths in the oldest age group—there were 167 such deaths in 1949, of which 141 occurred in persons over 65 years of age. Bronchitis and pneumonia caused 280 deaths in 1948 and 372 in 1949, of which 210 and 292, respectively, occurred amongst persons over 65 years of age.