Since the 1900’s, the overall death rate of the population in Britain has decreased. For males, the death rate has dropped from 25829 in 1901 to a mere 8477 in 2000. The rate fell from 21705 to 5679 within the same period of time for females. It was noted that death rates increased during flu epidemics as well as in cold and hot weather. For example, about 200 000 people died in the year 1918 due to the influenza epidemic. Nowadays, more people die after the age of 65 while in the early 1900’s, only 20% of people survived to this age.
Infant mortality rates have also declined.In 2006 Only 1% of deaths were of infants whereas in 1901, 25% of deaths were infants. In 2005, it was found that the main cause of childhood deaths was injury and poisoning. Also, the life expectancy for men has increased from 48 to 76.
9 for men and from 52 to 81. 2 for women. Among the reasons for the changes in death rate would be the improvements in medical service. The medical field has boomed very much so since the early 1900s. Many vaccinations and immunisations are readily available for people to prevent them from contracting diseases, be it fatal or not.Tuberculosis, for instant has almost completely disappeared in the UK due to immunisation.
In 1901, 11% of deaths were caused by Tuberculosis but in 2000 it only made up 0. 07% of deaths. There is also a much better availability of food. UK is now much better fed than before. Food is much more affordable and is easily obtained for most people. Due to the ready availability of food, vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition in the UK have all but disappeared.
We are able to grow more and live longer.Though other problems related to food have come up such as eating disorders and obesity, this still reduces the death rates due to insufficient nutrients. Besides this, improvements in public health have been made which has led to a decrease in death rates. Rapid industrialisation improved hygiene greatly. The sewage system was developed in London in the late 1860’s and a filtered water system was created after 1875. All this helped curb the spread of disease and infection and thus increased the life expectancy.
The improvement in environmental conditions is also a factor of the decrease in death rates since the 1900’s. It has been said that the quality of air has improved because there is now less pollution than in the 1900’s. The DEFRA has started initiations to improve pollution and this has helped to further reduce death rates. Changes in occupation would be yet another cause of the decline in death rates.
This is mainly because there is less heavy manual work being done now than before.This reduces chances of death as many workers may have died due to injuries and or accidents in the workplace. The Joseph Rowantree Foundation did a study and they found that certain locations in the UK have a higher death rate than others. For instance, northern and urban areas have a higher death rate than that of rural areas. In conclusion, death rates have decreased because of improvements in medical services, better food availability, improvements in public health, improvements in environmental conditions and changes in occupation.
