Abstract
ACCORDING to an article in the September issue of the Statistical Bulletin of New York, war conditions generally favour an increase of rheumatic fever in the armed forces. This was seen not only in the War of 1914–18 but also in the present conflict, in which many cases have been reported among the younger men enlisted. Susceptible individuals are usually attacked shortly after reporting for duty. About 40 per cent give a history of infection in childhood; but in a significant proportion there is no history of a previous attack. The seasonal distribution of the cases is typical, the peak being reached in the late winter and early spring. In the great majority of cases there is a history of upper respiratory infection or of scarlet fever. In the general population, however, both in the United States and in England, there has been a decline in rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease during a war period, the decline being attributed to decreased amount of poverty as a result of full employment, the better feeding of children, especially the increased provision of milk, and the evacuation of children from metropolitan areas.
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War and Rheumatic Fever. Nature 153, 220 (1944). https://doi.org/10.1038/153220a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/153220a0