Spanish flu in St. Louis, Missouri : a demographic analysis

Abstract

It is well known that the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 was disastrous worldwide and many large-scale studies have shown interesting and unusual demographic trends related to the pandemic. By analyzing the impact of the Spanish Flu at a smaller scale researchers will be able to draw more definite conclusions about the demographic results and consequences of the pandemic. Doing so can also serve a function in forming modern public health policy. This analysis presents demographic information for St. Louis City, Missouri from the last three months of 1918, during the second wave of the pandemic. Death records found online through the Office of the Secretary of State of Missouri were used to collect demographic data for the specified period of time. Analyses of different demographic categories including age, race, sex, and citizenship were conducted and possible explanations for the results are posited.