234 ^'^s Philippine Journal of Science 1917 



at death being 22.98 years, and the average age at death occurring 

 after 11 years being 35.25 years. 



When interpreting the high mortality which occurs so early in 

 life, the following must be considered: High infant mortality, 

 tuberculosis, and the tropical diseases, such as cholera, dysen- 

 teries, and tropical fevers. During one year the average death 

 rate of Filipino infants less than 1 year of age was 486.77 per 

 1,000, which is a mortality of almost 50 per cent. 



Tuberculosis causes a large number of deaths in all decades. 

 It has been the cause of death in 8 per cent of all infants up to 

 5 years of age which have come to autopsy in Manila. (4) 



The United States Census Bureau calculated in 1912 that 

 400,000 of the present inhabitants of the Philippine Islands were 

 doomed to die of tuberculosis. 



The prevalence of cholera, the dysenteries, tuberculosis, and 

 other diseases in the Philippines are shown in Table I, compiled 

 from the Philippine health statistics. 



Table I. — General causes of death and number of deaths in the Philippines 



during 191i. 





Tuberculosis 



18,009 



Fevers 



22,102 



Cholera 



2,018 



Dysenteries and diarrhoeas 



12,381 



Other infectious diseases 



6,048 



Beriberi 



4,040 



Convulsions of infants under 5 years of age 



22,057 



Leprosy 



21 



Violence 



1,834 



Cerebral hemorrhage 



581 



All other causes 



65,938 



Total number of deaths 



155,029 



ATHEROMA 





A study of the presence and extent of atheroma with associated 

 cardiac and renal changes in Filipinos was made to determine the 

 possibilities which these changes might have in explaining the 

 cause of death after the age of 40 years. 



An examination of Table I shows that only about 58 per cent 

 of all deaths can be accounted for by tuberculosis, infantile con- 

 vulsions, and the more typical tropical diseases. Thus there 

 are about 42 per cent in which the cause of death has not been 

 specifically recorded. It is safe to say that among this 42 per 

 cent of nonspecifically recorded deaths there is a large percentage 

 of those who live beyond the age of 40 years, as the majority of 

 deaths from the diseases recorded in Table I occurs before the 

 age of 40 years. Also it may be stated that in this 42 per cent 



