Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: What You Need to Know (2024)
Researchers have identified 14 biomarkers that, if atypical at birth, may increase an infant’s risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS—a fatal syndrome that has long puzzled doctors. The study evaluated more than 350 infants who died from SIDS and compared them to more than 1,400 babies who were not stricken by the syndrome. “We may be able to identify infants at increased risk for SIDS soon after birth,” the researchers at the University of California–San Francisco wrote in their study . The ability to make this early identification could help with prevention. They also found that infants born to Hispanic and Asian mothers were at a lowest risk. SIDS is defined as the sudden unexplained death of a newborn under 1. It usually occurs during sleep. Though the cause of SIDS is unknown, babies who die of the syndrome are thought to have problems in the way they respond to stress and how they regulate their heart rate, breathing, and temperature. Babies that are male, are born prematu...