This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Higher SIDS rate observed at higher elevation
The incidence of sudden infant death syndrome was greater among infants born to mothers living at high altitudes — particularly among those living at more than 8,000 feet, according to recent study findings.
“In the United States, the well-known Back to Sleep campaign began to promote supine sleeping for SIDS prevention in 1994. This public health campaign is credited with [approximately a 50%] reduction in the rate of SIDS in the United States,” David Katz, MD, of the division of cardiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote. “Although SIDS rates are also down globally, they have stabilized, and there has been a call for action to further reduce the risk.”
Katz and colleagues sought to evaluate the association between SIDS incidence and residential altitude among 393,216 infants born between 2007 and 2012 in Colorado birth and death registries. The researchers used geocoding of maternal residential address and logistic regression to determine adjusted associations between residential altitude and SIDS.
In an extended cohort, researchers examined the impact of the Back to Sleep campaign on the interaction between sleep position and altitude across various altitudes between 1990 and 2012.
Primary cohort analysis indicated that 79.6% of infants resided at an altitude less than 6,000 feet, 18.5% lived between 6,000 feet and 8,000 feet, and 1.9% of the cohort resided at elevations greater than 8,000 feet. The researchers observed no significant differences in maternal characteristics across altitude groups.
Infant residential altitude of more than 8,000 feet was associated with an adjusted increased risk for SIDS vs. infants living at less than 6,000 feet (aOR = 2.3; 95% CI, 1.01-5.24).
In the extended cohort, SIDS incidence before the Back to Sleep campaign was 1.99 for every 1,000 live-births in Colorado, and it decreased to 0.57 for every 1,000 live-births after campaign rollout (P ≤ .001). Similar results were observed across various altitudes.
“This study demonstrates an association between altitude and SIDS, with higher SIDS rates observed at high elevation than at more moderate elevations,” the researchers wrote. – by Jennifer Southall
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.