Insanity in immigrants / by Peter H. Bryce ; being a paper read before the American Public Health Association, at Richmond, Va., October, 1909.

  • Bryce, P. H. (Peter Henderson), 1853-1932.
Date:
1910
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Insanity in immigrants / by Peter H. Bryce ; being a paper read before the American Public Health Association, at Richmond, Va., October, 1909. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    P. H. BRYCE, M.A., M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Interior, Ottaiva, Canada. * Read before the Section on Vital Statistics, American Public Health Association at Richmond, Va., October, 1909. The charge having been made in some quarters that there was an unduly large number of immigrants being admitted to Canada, who became subsequently or were at the time of admission insane, it became a duty to endeavour to determine, as far as statistics were possible, what the exact situation was. For comparison, it was necessary that estimations of populations be made as regards age periods, sex, nationality, &c., according to the last census. The population by ago periods in the three countries was:— England, Wales. 1901. Under 15 32-4 15-24 19-5] 2.5-34 16-1 U7-8% 35-44 12-2] 45-54 8-9] 55434 6-0 j- 19-5% 65 4-6 J Canada. 1901. 340 200 11-5 91 11-5 8-2 5-6 j -43 6% 25-3% United States. 1900. 34-4 19-61 15-9 (-47-6% 121 8-4' 5-3 40 17 The notable differences at different age periods in Canada, especially as compared with either England or the United States, point to the fact that if a small population, as a Canadian Province or Eastern State, lost during a ten-year period a notable number of its young population, or on the other hand had added to it an abnormal number, it must be apparent that the proportion of persons normally present in any age period would be notably altered. The first is the explanation of the excessive number of persons in the three later age periods in 1901 in Canada, which had for twenty years been losing to the United States a notable number of young men and women; while as will be seen in the figures for the three new Western Provinces, made up of a young population, the difference in the age periods in the 1906 census by an enormous immigration of nearly 100 per cent over 1901, makes the variation from the norma] even more marked. Thus:— Age Period. Canada. 1901. 0-15 340 15-24 2001 25-34 14-5 (• 43-6% 35-44 911 11-51 4.5-54 5.5-64 8-2 |-25-3% Over 65 5-6J Manitoba, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Alberta. Alberta. 1901. 1906. 38-4 34-3 19-21 34-31 15-9 1-47-2% 190 V52-2% 12-0 J 121 I 7-01 7-31 . 3-7 }-14-0% e-7 [ is-i% 2-3J 2-0 J The causes of these differences are at once apparent if we note the number of children in nn imjpigrant papulation. Taking the years 1905-6-7-8, it is found that of the 187,519 American immigrants to Western Gwada there were of men 106,040,