Premium
Sudden Infant Death in Stockholm
Author(s) -
RAJS JOVAN,
HAMMARQUIST FOLKE
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1988.tb10761.x
Subject(s) - sudden infant death syndrome , medicine , incidence (geometry) , pediatrics , sudden death , myocarditis , physics , optics
. During a ten year period, March 1976‐February 1986, 83 non‐selected consecutive cases of sudden unexpected death in infants, between one week and one year of age, were examined at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Stockholm. Forty‐three deaths (52%) were classified as typical or possible cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), 35 (42%) as non‐violent non‐SIDS cases and 5 (6%) as non‐natural deaths. Cardiovascular disease, including myocarditis, was found in 21 (25%) instances, infections with inflammatory manifestations in various organs outside the heart in 12 (14%) and miscellaneous, non‐violent causes of death in 2 (2%) cases. The male: female ratio was 1.15:1 for SIDS and 1.30:1 for non‐SIDS cases. A peak of incidence was found for SIDS cases in infants between two and four months of age, while non‐SIDS victims tended to be somewhat older. Ninety‐five percent of the SIDS fatalities occurred during the winter months (October‐April) as compared to 71% of the non‐SIDS cases. Outdoor temperature below the annual mean of 5.9°C in combination with a sudden decrease in temperature was associated with sudden deaths, particularly SIDS. Thirty‐three percent of the SIDS victims died in their cribs compared to 51% of the non‐SIDS cases. Corresponding figures for deaths outdoors in a pram were 33% and 11%, respectively. Fourteen percent of the infants in both groups died while in bed with one of the parents. Ninety‐five percent of the SIDS victims were previously healthy, but in 9% one or more periods of abnormal breathing had been noted. The corresponding figures for non‐SIDS were 70% and 3%, respectively. Among the cases of non‐natural deaths was one infant who died of heroin poisoning and one of hypothermia.