Sudden unexplained death syndrome in Southeast Asia

Abstract

would like to discuss the phenomenon of sudden unexplained death among young Thai men and other Southeast Asians. At the end of the Vietnam war, there was a rush of Laotian and Cambodian refugees to the United States. In 1976 and 1977, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) observed an unusually high death rate among young men who had come from that region. In the CDC summary of the findings on Southeast Asians, the term “sudden unexplained death syndrome” (SUDS) was coined. The rise in mortality figures peaked around 1981-1982 (Figure l), reaching about 25 per 100,000.’ A total of 121 cases were intensively reviewed. Most of the deaths (in contrast to artery-related sudden cardiac death) occurred between 10:00 py and 8:OO AM, i.e., overnight while the victims were asleep. Their mean age was approximately 32 years (range 16-63) and 68% of the victims came from Laos, 18% from Cambodia, and 13% from Vietnam. lS-