Industrial Tuberculosis Experience in 1918

The industrial department of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company has recently published a report of the department ’s tuberculosis mortality experience for the year 1918. The death rate from tuberculosis (all forms) has decreased every year for the Metropolitan since 1911, when the rate was 224.6 per hundred thousand. In 1918 the death rate had fallen to 187.4, which is, however, only slightly lower than the r ate for 1917—188.9. With this experience rate of the Metropolitan company may be compared the general mortality rate for 1917 throughout the death registration area in continental United States, which was 146.4. It would be interesting to study the causes as to why the death rate of those insured by the company should have been 42.5 higher in 1917 than the general rate for the whole United States. In view of the fact that those insured averaged doubtless younger one would naturally expect the rate lower.
Source: JAMA - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research