Sudden
infant death syndrome (SIDS), also known as crib death or cot death, is the sudden death of an apparently healthy infant between 2 weeks and 1 year old, due to unknown causes. About 95% of all cases occur between 2 and 4 months of age. The incidence of SIDS worldwide averages about 1.5 per 1,000 live births, and it is responsible at least 7,000 infant deaths annually in the United States. SIDS occurs more frequently in male infants; low-birthweight infants, particularly premature babies;
infants born to mothers who had used narcotic drugs during pregnancy; infants of parents who smoke; and infants with recent respiratory infections. The latter may be
related to the more frequent occurrence of SIDS during the cold winter months.
About 60% if SIDS victims die of respiratory failure, and 30% or more of circulatory failure. No single explanation applies to all cases and various physiological disturbances have been suggested. Research has
shown changes consistent with chronically reduced oxygen levels in the blood, possibly related to failureÑobserved in some babiesÑof a fetal form of hemoglobin to switch over to normal hemoglobin.
babies who dies of SIDS have been found to have many more immune cells in their lungs than healthy babies, suggesting an allergic reaction. European studies have shown that babies who
sleep on their stomachs are more vulnerable to SIDS, as are babies who sleep on soft bedding or in overheated rooms, and overbundled babies. In 1994 pediatricians in the United States began urging that babies be put down to sleep on their backs, rather than in the face-down position. The rate of SIDS went from 1.62 per 1,000 live
births in 1992 to 0.8 per 1,000 live births in 1995. This is attributed in part to the change in sleep position; researchers estimate that significantly more babies are put to sleep on their backs than in the past.
Other studies have shown that exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of SIDS. In 1998 researchers in Italy found that babies with a particular type of heartbeat are at much greater risk of SIDS, and there may be a genetic component related to having this heartbeat.
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