Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-27
INSANITY IN NEW YORK.
Highest Proportion Of Unsound in
Small Urban Populations.

From the New York Medical Journal
At the close of 1905 New York state had
1880 insane patients in it's public hos
pitfalls, or proportion Of one to about
three hundred Of the population. These
show very uneven distribution. About
seven OF the counties show a proportion Of
less than one In five hundred. but these
are counties in which the population II
growing very rapidly. and the families
moving in leave their insane relatives in
Counties like Washington. Essex and
Hamilton show very few insane, while Al
bany, Rensselaer,, Duchess, Putnam
Oneida. Ontario. Yates. Seneca, Schuyler
and Chemung show the greatest proper
tions Of cases. From Monroe to Chemung
there Is belt Of high proportion coun-
ties, which in the graphic chart on hered-
ity Is very striking. This chart is some
what misleading and Is probably to be
interpreted on the hypothesis that the
area OF the state has been more or less
stable for a number Of years, and hence
capable of analysis, while IN larger cities
the defective histories from recent immi-
grants cause this factor to be lost sight Of.
The histories are too defective.
AS q rule the highest proportions Of
mental disturbances are found In the
small urban populations. This Is largely
due to the fact. already. noted, that the
rapid influx into the large cities tends to
keep the proportion down. The chart on
the increase Of insanity shows 1t to have
been steadily going. up sincs- 1897. the
annual percentage increase Of the insane
mounting above the pexcentage increase
OF population.
Concerning the factor of occupation. II
Is interesting to note that indoor mechan-
ical workers show a low percentage of
mental disease. The statement that the
toll 81 A. H.
as those Of sound mind is disproved> by q
consideration of mortality among the in
sane In the state. Serious physical dis
ease Is prevalent among the insane, but
deaths from dysentery, which have been
common In many English Institutions Of
late years, are absent with us, and tho
number of deaths from, tuberculosis dis
ease In our institutions is not much above
the proportion In the general population.
This speaks well for the conditions under
which the New York state insane live. :
1T Is very striking and significant fact
that while the percentage Of the foreign
born to the state population is twenty-six
the percentage Of the foreign born insane
Is forty-six. Whence the higher preve-
lence of insanity among the foreign born
it Is hard to state. Economic conditions
are undoubtedly largely creative Of the
disparity in numbers. A further study Of
our immigrant insane is also noteworthy.
The mingling of races is so active at the
present time that it is difficult to state
just what the tendency Is further than to
say that there Is very high percentage OF
mental disorders among the immigrant
population. During the past ten years the
percentage of patients of Irish and Ger
man birth has decreased, while corre-
spending increase in the proportion Of ma
tives Of Russia, Austria, Hungary and
Italy has taken place. That such a marked
change in the composition Of the foreign
born insane should follow SO quickly the
changes in the sources Of immigration
leads to the conclusion that new and i'm
portant conditions are bound to arise In
the population of our state hospitals.