INCREASE IN DEFECTIVES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21432, 5 September 1931, Page 14

INCREASE IN DEFECTIVES

BIRTH CONTROL AT ITS MINIMUM QUALITY OF THE RACE EXPECTATION OF LIFE. (Fbdm Ope Own Correspondent.) LONDON, July 23. Although the vitality of the nation has been steadily improving the expectation of life is still only 55 years for males and 59 for females. - This was one of the points emphasised by Dr W. G. Willoughby in his presidential address to the British Medical Association at Eastbourne. .' ■ Dr Willoughby, who is medical officer of health for Eastbourne, declared that in spite of abundant evidence of progress it was not possible to be satisfied with the position of the general health to-day. “The constitution of the population, he said, "is altering through the nature of the reduction of the birth rate. If careful, scientific, and eugenic birth control were possible, a healthier type might be evolved. - ” . "What is actually occurring, however, is a greater proportionate reduction in the number of births among the better types of the race than among the less satisfactory. This results in a mental and and physical disadvantage to the race as a Recent reports of the Board of Control showed that the proportion of mental defectives in the population had increased approximately from 4 to 8 per 1000 in 25 years. Birth conctrol was at its minimum among those people. LACK OF INDIVIDUAL EFFORT. “ If the present course of birth reduction continues,” he continued, “we are nearing the time when the already diminishing natural increase of the populationexcess of births over deaths —will disappear entirely. The annual rate of increase by excess of births over deaths per 1000 living, which was over 14 50 years ago, and about 12 at the end of the last century, in 1928 was 6 and in 1929 2.9. “In the present difficult circumstances this may be satisfactory, but in venturing rightly or wrongly to interfere with the course of nature by birth control it is certainly essential to take care that ia re-

ducing the quantity of bur available supply for the future of the race, we, at all events, endeavour ‘to preserve the quality of the remainder." Except in strong characters unemployment had a very adverse effect on mental and physical health. . ' “There never was a time when so muon was expected from the State without iih dividual effort, and lack of such effort ana want of occupation tend to the acquiring of habits that are not conducive to health. The improvement that has taken place through better general education only partly counteracts this tendency." iDEATHS AT EARLY AGES. While agreeing that the increase in the average duration of life had been considerable in the present century, averaging more than 12 years, he said that the annual summary of the registrar-general for England and Wales demonstrated that there were far too many deaths at early ages. Rather over one-third of the deaths of males, and nearly one-third of the deaths of females, occurred before the age of 50. , An increase in the expectation of life was worse than useless, unless the life so prolonged were healthy enough to be enjoyed. Sickness made it too often a doubt- * ful blessing. Damage rate in early life was more important to the survivors than death rate. SEVENTY YEARS OF THE PSALMIST. “We are still," Dr Willoughby said, " on ah average, far short of the 70 years of the Psalmist. In the very interesting publications of the Life Extension Institute of New York you may find very plausible reasons given why there need be no limit at all to our expectation of duration of life. It is propounded that in suitable circumstances of living, and especially by means of repeated examinations to find and control defects, life could be prolonged indefinitely." The Psalmist's pessimistic description of the age group 70 to 80 applied far too truthfully to many of the years short of , 70 in a great proportion of our present: day population. The stated causes of death in early childhood were chiefly, respiratory diseases, enteritis, infectious diseases, violence, and tuberculosis. In many cases there had to be added to these causes “ lack of resistance to disease ‘due to want of medical attention and to improper environmental circumstances at an ■early age.”