Univariate Analysis of Short-Chain Fatty Acids Related to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Carlos E Galván-Tejada,Arturo Moreno-Báez,Jose M Celaya-Padilla,Laura A Zanella-Calzada,Huizilopoztli Luna-García,Hamurabi Gamboa-Rosales,Karen E Villagrana-Bañuelos,Jorge I Galván-Tejada

doi:10.3390/diagnostics10110896

Abstract

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is defined as the death of a child under one year of age, during sleep, without apparent cause, after exhaustive investigation, so it is a diagnosis of exclusion. SIDS is the principal cause of death in industrialized countries. Inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) have been related to SIDS. These errors are a group of conditions characterized by the accumulation of toxic substances usually produced by an enzyme defect and there are thousands of them and included are the disorders of the -oxidation cycle, similarly to what can affect the metabolism of different types of fatty acid chain (within these, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs)). In this work, an analysis of postmortem SCFAs profiles of children who died due to SIDS is proposed. Initially, a set of features containing SCFAs information, obtained from the NIH Common Fund’s National Metabolomics Data Repository (NMDR) is submitted to an univariate analysis, developing a model based on the relationship between each feature and the binary output (death due to SIDS or not), obtaining 11 univariate models. Then, each model is validated, calculating their receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) and area under the ROC curve (AUC) value. For those features whose models presented an AUC value higher than 0.650, a new multivariate model is constructed, in order to validate its behavior in comparison to the univariate models. In addition, a comparison between this multivariate model and a model developed based on the whole set of features is finally performed. From the results, it can be observed that each SCFA which comprises of the SFCAs profile, has a relationship with SIDS and could help in risk identification.

Highlights

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is defined as the death of a child under one year of age, during sleep, without apparent cause
SIDS is the main cause of death in previously healthy babies [8], as of there is no consensus on the reasons that causes it [9] which results in uncertainty when not being able to identify which babies are at risk of suffering it, and of suffering a lethal episode, known as episodes of apparent life threatening events
Each model was validated calculating their ROC curve and area under the ROC curve (AUC) value. For those features whose models presented an AUC value higher than 0.650, a new multivariate model was constructed, in order to validate its behavior in comparison to the univariate models

Summary

Introduction

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is defined as the death of a child under one year of age, during sleep, without apparent cause. Several investigations have been carried out and the concept of SIDS has changed in order to discover the specific reason that causes death, it can be defined as the sudden death of an infant under one year of age, while asleep, which remains unexplained after a thorough investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of clinical history [1,2,3,4]. SIDS is the main cause of death in previously healthy babies [8], as of there is no consensus on the reasons that causes it [9] which results in uncertainty when not being able to identify which babies are at risk of suffering it, and of suffering a lethal episode, known as episodes of apparent life threatening events (ALTE, “an episode that is frightening to the observer and that is characterized by some combination of apnea (central or occasionally obstructive), color change (usually cyanotic or pallid but occasionally erythematous or plethoric”) [10]

Methods

Results

Conclusion