Abstract
IN the past 10 yr infant deaths in the age group 1 week up to 1 yr have levelled off at about 7.5 per thousand. About half these deaths are sudden and unexpected and are consequently referred to a coroner for certification; subsequent post mortem investigation reveals evidence of disease likely to cause death in 30% of sudden deaths: in the remainder the cause of death is obscure and such a case may be described as sudden infant death syndrome, SIDS, or more conveniently as cot death. In 1972 a panel, convened by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Washington, to discuss the status of epidemiological research in SIDS considered a prospective study of high risk babies of primary importance, but doubt was expressed as to whether a sufficiently high risk group could be identified to make such a study feasible (P. Froggatt, personal communication). We report the results of the first year of such a prospective study.
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References
Protestos, C. D., Carpenter, R. G., McWeeny, P. M., and Emery, J. L., Archs Dis. Childh., 48, 835 (1973).
Kraus, J. F., Franti, C. E., and Borhani, N. O., Am J. Epidemiol., 96, 328 (1972).
Lachenbruch, P. A., Biometrics, 24, 823 (1968).
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CARPENTER, R., EMERY, J. Identification and follow-up of infants at risk of sudden death in infancy. Nature 250, 729 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/250729a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/250729a0
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