The mental affections of children : idiocy, imbecility and insanity / by William W. Ireland.

  • William Wotherspoon Ireland
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The mental affections of children : idiocy, imbecility and insanity / by William W. Ireland. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    were so affected 2106 males and 1751 females = 3857 in all, about one to every 500 of the population. At the same time, the number of the deaf was found to be 745 males, 666 females, in all 1411. Sweden and Norway 4 In the census of i860 the number of idiots in Sweden was found to have been one to every 1542 of the population; in 1890 there was one idiot to every 628 persons. A pro¬ gressive increase was also found in the number of lunatics : in i860 there was one to every 771, and in 1890 one lunatic to every 549 persons. In the census of Norway returns are asked of the insane from birth or infancy, most of whom must be idiots. Twenty- three years ago I published statistics showing that there was in Norway a decrease in idiocy of 14.6 per cent, while there was an increase in acquired insanity of about 11.55. Un¬ happily the decrease has not continued. In 1845 there was one idiot for every 1358 persons, and one insane person in every 619; in 1855, one idiot in every 1125, and one insane in every 560; in 1865, one idiot in every 834, and one insane in every 524 inhabitants ; but by the census of 1876 there was one idiot in every 498, and one insane person in every 398. This startling result was supposed to be owing to the questions in the schedules being put in so indefinite a manner that mistakes were made in the answers. In the census of 1891, which was carefully taken, there were 1357 male idiots and 1074 females, 2431 in all, to a pop¬ ulation of 2,001,000 souls—that is, one idiot for every 823 inhabitants. At the same time there was one insane person for 376. These statistics thus bring out an increase both in idiocy and insanity, both in Sweden and in Norway, and this in face of the statement that drunkenness has much
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