SIDS: Potential cause identified?
New research unearths a potential mechanism for sudden infant death syndrome
SIDS by the numbers
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is unexplained death that occurs in seemingly healthy babies most often during their sleep. It remains one of the leading causes of infant death in western countries. Since the 1990s multiple public health campaigns and other efforts have been made in an attempt to decrease SIDS deaths among newborns. Issuing sleep recommendation guidelines, running ‘Safe to sleep’ campaigns and introducing the Sudden Unexplained Infant Death Investigation Reporting Form has improved the situation. In the beginning of 1990s SIDS caused more than 130 deaths per every 100,000 live births in the U.S., but in 2019 this number had been reduced to 33.3. Still, that means that in the U.S. alone every year about 2,500 infants die from SIDS leaving their parents devastated and feeling immense guilt.
Mayo Clinic has listed many physical, environmental and risk factors thought to be associated with SIDS, including:
Sex - boys are slightly more likely to die from SIDS
Age - most vulnerable between 2-4 months
Race - highest rates are reported among American Indian/ Alaskan Native and Non-Hispanic Black populations. Lowest - among Asian/ Pacific Islanders
Secondhand smoking
Premature birth
Sleeping on the stomach or side
Sleeping on a soft surface, such as lying face down on a soft mattress or pillow
Maternal behaviors such as smoking cigarettes, using drugs and/or alcohol, and not receiving adequate prenatal care
However, even with all these precautions and efforts in mind, SIDS can still occur because the specific cause of it remains largely unknown. While it has been believed that SIDS is caused not by a single, but by multiple factors, nobody has been able to pinpoint to them more specifically. But this could change soon as new research points to potential for identifying underlying biochemical markers associated with SIDS.
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