NO. OF DEATHS PER 1000 LIVE BIRTHS
60
INFANT
NEO-NATAL
FIGURE 2
INFANT AND NEO-NATAL MORTALITY RATE 1959-73
0
59
60
$1
02
63
65
$6
67
68 69
YEAR
FR
70
71
72
73
Infant Mortality
35.
The infant mortality rate was 16.8 per thousand live births, and is now at a lower level than many European and American countries. The decline in infant mortality during the year was due to improvement in environmental conditions, development of maternal and child health services, and increasing public appreciation of the value of these services in the maintenance of health among infants and mothers.
36.
Among the major causes of infant mortality vere reductions in mortality from preventable diseases, particularly tetanus, pneumonia and bronchitis. There has been a steady reduction in mortality from prematurity due to improvement in midwifery and maternal health services. As experienced elsewhere, congenital malformations and other diseases of the new-born proved during the year to be more intractable, and mortality from these causes was little affected.
Maternal Mortality
37.
The rate for 1973 was 0.10, a slight decrease on the 1972 rate. The causes of maternal mortality, which decreased during the year, were haemorrhages,abortions, ectopic pregnancies and toxaemia.
General Mortality
38.
The marked social and economic changes occurring in Hong Kong during the years following World War II were again reflected in the mortality trends and patterns of diseases. These have changed considerably in the past two decades. Improvements in the general level of public health were demonstrated by the decline in proportionate mortality from infections and intestinal diseases.
39.
In all age groups, malignant neoplasms were the main cause of death, being responsible for 21.4 per cent of all deaths in 1973. The five leading causes of death were cancer, diseases of the heart including hypertensive disease, pneumonia, cerebro-vascular disease, and accidents, in that order.
40.
The death rate from cancer continued to increase, rising from 30 per 100,000 of the population for both sexes in 1950 to 69.7 in 1961, and to 109.1 in 1973. Among women, the common causes of death from cancer vere cancer of the breast and cancer of the uterine cervix. In the community as a whole, the common cancer deaths were cancer of the lung, primary cancer of the liver, nasopharyngeal cancer, and cancer of the stomach.
41.
Heart disease, including hypertensive diseases, was the second leading cause of death with a mortality rate of 58.9 per 100,000 of the population in 1961, increasing to 74.8 in 1973.
42.
Pneumonia was the third leading cause of death. The disease was a major cause of death in the mid-1950s, but the mortality rate dropped from 85.8 in 1961 to 53.8 in 1973.
43.
Cerebro-vascular disease, fourth in the list, had a mortality rate of 44.2 in 1961. This rose to 47.5 in 1973.
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