The causes of death among the assured in the Scottish Widow's Fund and Life Assurance Society from 1874 to 1894 inclusive / [Claud Muirhead].

  • Muirhead, Claud.
Date:
1902
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The causes of death among the assured in the Scottish Widow's Fund and Life Assurance Society from 1874 to 1894 inclusive / [Claud Muirhead]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Sixty-six out of tlie one hundred and forty-three wei'e found to liave exceeded their expectation of life by periods varying from a few months to 20 years. I8SS-94..—During this Septennium Bronchitis carried off one hundred and sixty-nine members, representing 4'G20 per cent of the septennial mortality, at the average age of 6 7'024. The ages of thirteen of tlie members were rated u]) from 2 to 5 years when they joined the Society, and of these five exceeded their expectation of life, one by no less than IT) years. The other eight fell short of it by ])eriods ranging from 4 to 23 years. Of the one hundred and sixty-nine claims, eighty-nine were Englishmen, who died at the average age of 65 ; forty-two were Scotchmen, whose average age at death was 7 0 ; and thirty-eight were Irishmen, who died at the average age of 68. The large number of eighty-three exceeded their expectation of life, and this they did by from 1 to 21 years. Consumption. Consumption or I’hthisis has ever since the foundation of the Society acted as a dominant factor in building up the mortality table, and it con- tinues to do so to the present day, though happily in dimiuLshing degree. During the twenty-one years under review it has brought about the death of eight hundred and six members, equivalent on the whole mortality to a percentage of 8’796. I may mention that T have transfeiTed forty-seven cases to this heading which were returned under other diseases of the respiratory system, as, judging from internal evidence after careful consideration of the schedules, I believe that they more truly belong to this category. The following is a summary of our Consumptive Experience for the three Septennia :— 1 Septenniiiin. 1 Number of Deaths. , Percentage of Deaths in Septennium. Average Age at Deatli. i 1874-1880 249 10-071 41-773 1881-1887 275 ; 9-067 41-805 ! 1888-1894 ! 282 i 7-709 1 44-726 As I shall have something to say about the age at death of those of our members who died of Consumption, I propose to show here that the average ages at death in this Table, which have been calculated in the customary manner, do not accurately represent the relative death ages for the Consumption Mortality in the three Septennia. In 1874-80 seventeen members died of Consumption at ages 65 and over, whose average age at death was 70 years; in 1881-87 there were ten, with an average age of 7l years; and in 1888-94 there were twenty, with an average age of 70 years. Now, it is evident that if these cases are combined