September 2, 2010
BY BARBARA WILLIAMS
The number of babies dying from sudden infant death syndrome has dropped significantly in New Jersey, far outpacing the decline nationwide, according to a new report from the SIDS Center of New Jersey.
The SIDS rate in New Jersey dropped 45 percent between 2000 and 2006, the report said. Nationwide, SIDS deaths declined 16.5 percent during that period.
"The numbers are good, but we still have our work cut out for us," said Dr. Thomas Hegyi, medical director for the SIDS Center of New Jersey at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Experts said the decline in SIDS contributed to a 17 percent overall reduction in infant mortality in New Jersey, compared with a 3 percent rate nationwide.
SIDS is the term applied in the sudden death of an infant that remains unexplained even after an autopsy, death scene investigation and review of the child's medical history. It is the leading cause of death among babies from 1 month to 1 year of age.
Scientists attribute much of the decline in SIDS cases to more parents putting babies to sleep on their backs rather than their stomachs and following other health recommendations, such as not exposing babies to smoke.
In 1994, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Public Health Service began promoting its "Back to Sleep" campaign after discovering that babies who slept on their backs had a much lower risk for SIDS. At the time, an estimated 70 percent of infants in the U.S. were sleeping on their stomachs, following advice of doctors who for decades told parents to put babies to sleep on stomachs out of fear they could choke if on their backs.
Downward trend
In 2000, 62 babies in New Jersey died of SIDS, a rate of 0.5 deaths out of every 1,000 infants. In 2006, 34 babies died, for a rate of 0.3 per 1,000. Preliminary information from the state Department of Health and Senior Services suggests the trend extended into 2007 and 2008.
Nationwide, 2,520 infants died of SIDS in 2000, a rate of 0.62 per 1,000 infants. In 2006, there were 2,230 SIDS cases, a 0.54 rate.
"Eighty percent of the children who died from SIDS were not on their back when put to sleep," said Barbara Ostfeld, program director of the SIDS program.
Males are at greater risk than females, and blacks and Native Americans are at greater risk than white infants to die of SIDS. Many studies suggest that one of the main causes may be an abnormality in the brainstem that diminishes the infant's capacity to arouse and respond to breathing challenges, such as lying on the stomach on soft bedding.
The AAP says infants should be placed on their backs on a firm sleep surface covered with a fitted sheet and without pillows or other fluffy objects nearby. Children under 1 should not sleep — not even nap — in hammocks, sofas or parents' beds, where they can be rolled on top of and suffocated by a soundly sleeping mom or dad.
As for smoke exposure, the chemicals from cigarettes stay on clothing, furniture and other household items for eight hours, so infants are exposed to the carcinogens even if they are not in the room when someone is smoking, Hegyi said.
These chemicals have been shown to diminish that arousal mechanism, found to be crucial for infants not to suffocate.
"If you eliminate smoking, you would reduce SIDS by another 40 percent," said Hegyi.
Some risk factors can't be altered. For example, premature babies have an elevated risk for SIDS. But within such groups, adhering to the AAP guidelines can still have a profound effect, experts say.
"If a premature and a mature baby are both put to sleep on their backs, the premature baby has a 3 percent greater chance of dying," Ostfeld said. "But if you put a premature baby on its stomach and a mature baby on its back, that percentage goes up to 48."
For the complete AAP recommendations, go to rwjms.umdnj.edu/sids.
E-mail: williamsb@northjersey.com
The number of babies dying from sudden infant death syndrome has dropped significantly in New Jersey, far outpacing the decline nationwide, according to a new report from the SIDS Center of New Jersey.
The SIDS rate in New Jersey dropped 45 percent between 2000 and 2006, the report said. Nationwide, SIDS deaths declined 16.5 percent during that period.
"The numbers are good, but we still have our work cut out for us," said Dr. Thomas Hegyi, medical director for the SIDS Center of New Jersey at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Experts said the decline in SIDS contributed to a 17 percent overall reduction in infant mortality in New Jersey, compared with a 3 percent rate nationwide.
SIDS is the term applied in the sudden death of an infant that remains unexplained even after an autopsy, death scene investigation and review of the child's medical history. It is the leading cause of death among babies from 1 month to 1 year of age.
Scientists attribute much of the decline in SIDS cases to more parents putting babies to sleep on their backs rather than their stomachs and following other health recommendations, such as not exposing babies to smoke.
In 1994, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Public Health Service began promoting its "Back to Sleep" campaign after discovering that babies who slept on their backs had a much lower risk for SIDS. At the time, an estimated 70 percent of infants in the U.S. were sleeping on their stomachs, following advice of doctors who for decades told parents to put babies to sleep on stomachs out of fear they could choke if on their backs.
Downward trend
In 2000, 62 babies in New Jersey died of SIDS, a rate of 0.5 deaths out of every 1,000 infants. In 2006, 34 babies died, for a rate of 0.3 per 1,000. Preliminary information from the state Department of Health and Senior Services suggests the trend extended into 2007 and 2008.
Nationwide, 2,520 infants died of SIDS in 2000, a rate of 0.62 per 1,000 infants. In 2006, there were 2,230 SIDS cases, a 0.54 rate.
"Eighty percent of the children who died from SIDS were not on their back when put to sleep," said Barbara Ostfeld, program director of the SIDS program.
Males are at greater risk than females, and blacks and Native Americans are at greater risk than white infants to die of SIDS. Many studies suggest that one of the main causes may be an abnormality in the brainstem that diminishes the infant's capacity to arouse and respond to breathing challenges, such as lying on the stomach on soft bedding.
The AAP says infants should be placed on their backs on a firm sleep surface covered with a fitted sheet and without pillows or other fluffy objects nearby. Children under 1 should not sleep — not even nap — in hammocks, sofas or parents' beds, where they can be rolled on top of and suffocated by a soundly sleeping mom or dad.
As for smoke exposure, the chemicals from cigarettes stay on clothing, furniture and other household items for eight hours, so infants are exposed to the carcinogens even if they are not in the room when someone is smoking, Hegyi said.
These chemicals have been shown to diminish that arousal mechanism, found to be crucial for infants not to suffocate.
"If you eliminate smoking, you would reduce SIDS by another 40 percent," said Hegyi.
Some risk factors can't be altered. For example, premature babies have an elevated risk for SIDS. But within such groups, adhering to the AAP guidelines can still have a profound effect, experts say.
"If a premature and a mature baby are both put to sleep on their backs, the premature baby has a 3 percent greater chance of dying," Ostfeld said. "But if you put a premature baby on its stomach and a mature baby on its back, that percentage goes up to 48."
For the complete AAP recommendations, go to rwjms.umdnj.edu/sids.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/health/102069483_N_J__a_leader_in_reducing_SIDS_deaths.html
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