The first medical report of the Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest, presented to the Committee of Management, by the physicians of the institution.

Date:
1849
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The first medical report of the Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest, presented to the Committee of Management, by the physicians of the institution. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    Table II. Total number of cases of Phthisis treated as In- f Males .. 542 Patients, from September. 1842, to December 4 „ , 31st, 1848 .. .. .. .. .. I females 346 Total number of Cases of Phthisis treated as Out- Patients, from September, 1842, to December 31st, 1848 Males .. 2,137 Females 1,333 Total. 888 3,470 4,358 2nd.—Influence of Sex and Age. a—Sex.—In the preceding Table it will be observed, that of the 888 In- Patients, 542 were males, and 346 were females—the males constituting 61 per cent., and the females about 39 per cent, of the whole number. Of the 3,470 Out-Patients, 2,137 were males, and 1,333 were females,—the males here also being, as nearly as possible, 61 per cent., and the females a little more than 38 per cent. When it is remembered that the number of females in London somewhat exceeds that of males, the relative prevalence of the dis- ease in the latter must be considered in reality slightly greater than even ap- pears from the Table. A much greater liability to Phthisis is thus shown to exist in the male than in the female sex. This is not in accordance with the opinion entertained by writers of authority on the subject in this country and on the Continent, still we can see no reason for doubting the conclusion to be drawn from these Tables, as the facts are of a nature which scarcely admit of any error. The excess of males over females, thus shown, cannot be attri- buted to the greater number of that sex who attend at hospitals generally, as the converse is known to be the case. At St. George’s Hospital, in one district, for example, the proportion of females to males during the past year, amongst the Physician’s Patients, was as about 15 to 9. At the London Hospital, in another district, the female Out-Patients of the same class were to the males in nearly a similar ratio. The correctness of the conclusion as to the greater liability of men to Consumption in the Metropolis, is further shown by a reference to the Mortality Tables of the Registrar-General. From the year 1843 to 1846, inclusive, the number of male deaths from Phthisis in London was 14,836; whereas that of females was only 12,988: being in the proportion of about 53 per cent, of males to 47 per cent, of females. The proportion at Brompton being 61 per cent, of males to 39 per cent, of females. It has not escaped our observation, that in the country the relative propor- tion of Phthisical males and females differs from that shown here. In the