Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) News and Research

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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden, unexplained death of an infant younger than one year old. It is the leading cause of death in children between one month and one year of age. Most SIDS deaths happen when babies are between 2 months and 4 months of age.

When the smoke clears even secondhand smoke is found to be a killer

Dr. Richard Carmona the American Surgeon-General has stated in a new report that secondhand smoke is a killer and smoking should be banned in all work places.

28 Jun 2006

Disturbance of serotonin can lead to sudden infant death syndrome

University of Chicago researchers and colleagues have found strong support that a disturbance of a specific neurochemical can lead to sudden infant death syndrome, the primary cause of death before age 1 in the United States.

13 Mar 2006

Certain chemicals in the blood may indicate brain injury

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh have found that increased levels of certain proteins in the blood or spinal fluid may signal brain injury in infants with vomiting, fussiness and several other common symptoms.

20 Feb 2006

Common genetic variation increases SIDS risk in African Americans

About five percent of deaths from SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) in African Americans can be traced to defects in one gene and half of those deaths result from a common genetic variation that increases an infant's risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm during times of environmental stress

13 Feb 2006

Common cardiac sodium channel variant associated with sudden infant death in African Americans

Steve A.N. Goldstein and colleagues from the Pritzker School of Medicine in Chicago have found that a specific mutation, called S1103Y, in a heart protein known as SCN5A is associated with a dramatic, 24-fold increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in African American infants.

7 Feb 2006

New Saint Louis University research finds SIDS strikes premies later

Because premature and small babies are at risk for SIDS later and longer than full-term infants, pediatricians should adjust when they offer counseling to parents about preventing SIDS, according to research published by a Saint Louis University pediatrician who examined more than 8,000 SIDS deaths.

5 Feb 2006

Falling asleep with baby on the sofa can be fatal

Despite the fact that the number of cases of babies dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) has fallen dramatically over the last two decades, it seems that the number of deaths in children while sleeping with a parent on a sofa have risen 400 percent.

18 Jan 2006

One SIDS death may lead to another

Investigators in the UK have found that women who have an infant that dies from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) are more likely in their subsequent pregnancies to deliver infants who are born preterm or small for gestational age.

19 Dec 2005

Babies dummies reduce the risk of cot deaths

According to new research babies who are put to bed with a dummy in their mouths have a significantly lower risk of cot death.

12 Dec 2005

Top 12 health issues facing Australian children

Alarming levels of poorer health within indigenous children and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds tops a new list of 12 major issues threatening the future health of Australia.

10 Oct 2005

Babies should not be asleep in the same bed that their parents are sleeping in

Revised American Academy of Pediatrics' guidelines on preventing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) recommend putting babies to sleep in their own cribs instead of in their parents' beds.

10 Oct 2005

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) offers clues to SIDS, sleep apnea

Imagine raising a child who stops breathing when falling asleep - and has to be reminded to visit the bathroom after drinking a Big Gulp. That's the dilemma faced by parents of children born with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS).

11 Jul 2005

Hospitalized babies with severe breathing problems may benefit from lying on their stomachs

Infants who are hospitalized with severe breathing problems may benefit from being placed on their stomachs rather than their backs, according to a new review of recent studies.

19 Apr 2005

Parents should be banned from smoking while driving with children

Parents should be banned from smoking while driving with children in their vehicle, the Australian Medical Association (WA) said yesterday.

16 Mar 2005

Underhand methods used to challenge secondhand smoke's link to infant death risk

The link between secondhand smoke and sudden infant death has been discredited in the last few years in scientific articles paid for and influenced by cigarette manufacturers, according to a new study of once-secret industry documents.

7 Mar 2005

Link between muscle movement and breathing rhythms may shed new light on SIDS and sleep apnea

Between 2,000 and 3,000 infant deaths each year are attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. In addition, approximately 12 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, a respiratory ailment that can lead to death in some cases.

17 Feb 2005

Babies who do not sleep on their stomachs fail to learn behaviors that may lessen their risk SIDS

Babies who never sleep on their stomachs don't learn behaviors that may lessen their risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. Even so, the researchers caution that infants should always be placed on their backs to sleep.

6 Dec 2004

Cotinine not linked to hearing loss

Levels of cotinine, a chemical that is made by the body from nicotine, which is found in cigarette smoke, does not appear to be linked to hearing loss, according to an article in the November issue of The Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery.

16 Nov 2004

Back to Sleep campaign renews efforts to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in the African American community

The Back to Sleep campaign marks its tenth anniversary this October with renewed efforts to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in the African American community by reminding parents and caregivers to always place infants on their backs to sleep.

13 Oct 2004

Children who have problems breathing during sleep tend to score lower on tests of mental development and intelligence

Children who have problems breathing during sleep tend to score lower on tests of mental development and intelligence than do other children their age, according to two studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Both studies appear in the October issue of Journal of Pediatrics.

7 Oct 2004