The incidence of sudden death syndrome in a cohort of infants

Abstract

To quantify the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome in the town of Passo Fundo, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and to describe the profile of the deaths observed. A population-based cohort study of the live births from February 2003 to January 2004 to parents resident in the urban area. Infants were excluded if they had been hospitalized since birth, were in the process of being adopted or had died before data collection. 2,411 children were included from the total of 2,634 live births and 2,285 (94.8%) of these were followed-up. Data were obtained from the Live Births Information System (Sistema de Informações Sobre Nascidos Vivos), death registers, records of the Committee on Infant Mortality and from interviews with the social mother during home visits. Data collection instruments were adapted from previously validated forms. Data were analyzed on Epi-Info with descriptive statistics. Ten deaths were registered (0.4%). Four deaths of unknown causes could be included in sudden infant death syndrome category III. These deaths took place at home, between 4 and 6 months of age. The children slept on their sides, sharing a bed with adults, and had soft mattresses, pillows and diapers on the surface. They were the children of young mothers, smokers, with incomplete prenatal care and previous births from underprivileged economic classes. The incidence of suspicion of this syndrome was 1.75/1,000. The incidence rate of suspected sudden infant death syndrome in Passo Fundo is comparable with the highest international coefficients, which suggests the need for vigilance and risk prevention measures.