Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1929-04-05
STATE HEALTH BOARD
BATTLES DISEASES
[Continned from fri pagsl

this unusual condition, one unuer-
stands that seemingly untaVoraple
nosition is not so important as at
first appears. Though the number OF
deaths per 1000 OF populatlon y
higher than the number reporteu
from several other States, II Is very
doubtful if in these others there -
such a preponderance OF the eIuellS
as Delaware can show.
I'm 1920 there were in the state
nearly 5000 more persons OF the ase
of rs and over per million Oh pOpu-
lation beyond the number which
were In be found in a million Oh
ron,1ation which is considered d
Standard population, and the num-
ber had Increased nearly 1000 IN the
ten years between the censuses VI
1910 and 1920. So, If on cuIsoIy
glance the number of persons uyinS
iner 1000 of population appears hisli
On the other hand it is doubtful III
deed If many states can show d
greater average age of death tnah
con delaware. This figure too, is IN
creasing quite rapidly-belng III
1927 about so years, whereas IN ~
il was but A. In the year Oh 1911
only about Al per cent oil all PEI
sons diving were over so years olu'
in 1927 this percentage had arisen
to over AZ per cent. Inese Hsuie'
are very little unfavoraDle.
"Their significance from the pun,
lie health standpoint is three-Ioiu
and may well be taken to lnulcate
the public health policy "nlcn
sbould he followed. In the nrst
nIace If indicates that there mas
been a quite marked reduction III
+be deaths of children, either as IN
fants. or in the early years succeeu-
ing infancy when infectious diseases
aro most rife. We know that where
hnt a few years ago, of eacn lnouSo
md of infants born alive, about 1zO
to 40 died; in 1927 that loss n eo
heen cut down to somewhat over ~,
which meant a saving OF ABOUT |uV
I'VE know, too, that there mas
been a great change in the NUMBER
of deaths from the acute intecuons'
MANY of the victims of when are
from the young of the population
These deaths fiuctuate in NUMBER
unite widely, since there are certa,n
diseases which tend to recur III
waves of periodicity, but the general
trend towards improvements IN re
cent years, is quite obvious WIN
the deaths in the lower age SroupS
being reduced in numbers, II Is -quite
ohvious that the average age at
death must become greater.
'eWith a population lacking TO
come extent in that important ceh-
trail age group. the group MADE up
of the Young adults, every ehorC
which can be put forward to save
tbe lives of these deserves our sup
mort. One disease especially, tu-
berculosis. is known to be very Sc
1ective in it's ravages among per-
sons of that age group. Persons Oh
the ages between 20 and 4O seem es-
necially apt to become It's VlcIlnls'
and precisely these are the persons
whom the State relatively lacks Inc
necessity, therefore, of more aoe-
ouately protecting these seems very
apparent. I.oL NOR
@With a population in which per-
SONS of the higher age groups pre-
dominate, we might expect to find as
in fact we do, that there is well
marked tendency for an unduly hlgh
rate of incidence of the degeneratlve
diseases including cancer in TINS
category. Indeed, the cancer rate
for the State has for some years
been showing evidence of the dis
ease becoming more prevalent ana 1t
can not well be otherwise. Any COM
munity having an unusual NUMBER
of persons of the age of As or more
which age is considered to be WIN
in the period of increased cancer IN
cidence. must of necessity be com,
munity of a high cancer death rate.