Caregiver alcohol consumption increased risk for SIDS

Phillips DP. Addiction. 2010;doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03199.x.

Alcohol consumption by parents appeared to be a risk for sudden infant death syndrome, according to researchers from the University of California, San Diego.

The researchers said, however, that it is unclear whether it is an independent risk factor or a risk factor in conjunction with other known risk factors.

“In general, alcohol is known to impair judgment and worsen pediatric care,” the researchers wrote. “However, within this broad literature, studies focusing upon SIDS provide mixed evidence on the effects of alcohol consumption.”

Data on infant deaths were extracted from three sources: US computerized death certificates; the linked birth and infant death data set; and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). The study included all SIDS cases and other infant deaths that took place from 1973 to 2006. They measured the expected number vs. the observed number of New Year’s Day deaths, the average vs. the observed number of weekend deaths, and the SIDS death rate for children of alcohol-consuming vs. nonalcohol-consuming mothers.

The researchers found that there was a 33% spike in SIDS on New Year’s Day, more than the normal winter increase in SIDS. This spike is found when all years were combined, and individually in each year. In addition, there was also a 14% increase of SIDS on the day after Fourth of July and April 20, a counterculture celebration of cannabis. The researchers also suspect that SIDS deaths peak on the weekends, and that children of alcohol-consuming mothers are more likely to die of SIDS.

“Our study is the first to provide large-scale US evidence identifying alcohol as a possible risk factor [for SIDS],” the researchers wrote.

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