HC Deb 10 June 1974 vol 874 cc480-1W
Mr. Michael Latham

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons died as a result of collagen diseases in 1973, or for the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion this represented of those suffering from the disease.

Dr. Owen

The provisional numbers of deaths in England and Wales during 1973 that have been assigned to categories of the International Classification of Diseases which can be identified as collagen diseases are as follows:

many persons are suffering from sodalities.

Dr. Owen

Precise figures are not available but medical estimates are that up to some 50,000 people in England might be suffering from ankylosing spondylitis.