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3
COUNTY BOROUGH QF CROYDON.
ANNUAL REPORT
of the
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
and
SCHOOL MEDICAL OFFICER
For the Year 1934.
To the Chairman and Members of the Public Health Comviiltee.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present herewith my Seventh Annual
Report, being the thirty-fifth of the series, on the health of
Croydon. The general arrangement follows that of the last
report.
The contents have been compiled in compliance with Circular
1417 of the Ministry of Health, dated 25th October, 1934, and the
report is an ordinary, not a survey report.
VITAL STATISTICS.
The Birth Rate (13.2) was the same as for 1933, which was
the lowest figure vet recorded, and was 1.6 per 1,000 less than
for the whole of England and Wales, whilst the Death Rate
(10.7) showed a decline compared with 1933. It was 1 per 1,000
less than that for the whole of England and Wales, and was the
lowest yet recorded for Croydon. The steadily diminishing
Birth Rate is leading to a gradual rise in the average age of the
population, and in consequence any further permanent reduction
in the Death Rate is unlikely.
It is satisfactory to record a further diminution in the infant
mortality rate, the figure for 1934 being the lowest yet recorded.
This rate is usually taken as being the truest indication of the
general healthiness of a district, and Croydon has one of the lowest
infantile mortality rates among the large towns. In view of the
town's changing character from being largely residential to
industrialisation, the continued reduction in the loss of infant life
is gratifying.
The common infectious diseases showed a considerable increase
in incidence. The mortality rose from 0.17 to 0.24 per 1,000 of
the population. Infectious diseases exhibit more or less cyclical