Problem Partiers more likely to Lose Babies to SIDS

[liveonearth]

SIDS = Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. It is a "wastebasket diagnosis" for any infant death not pegged to some other cause. Based on this study we can say that many cases of SIDS are due to parental discombobulation. You know what discombobulation is, right?

According to the new study, SIDS incidence relates to parents' psych hospitalizations, drug and alcohol abuse. Here are the odds:
*2x more SIDS if EITHER parent had been admitted to a hospital for a psychiatric illness OTHER than drug or alcohol disorders
*7x more SIDS if BOTH parents had a history of any mental illness requiring hospital admission
*almost 7x more if the mother had an alcohol or drug disorder
*9x more if both parents had an alcohol or drug disorder

Formerly known modifiable risk factors for SIDS:
maternal smoking
sleep position (on belly is risky)

SOURCE
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/714929?src=mp&spon=42&uac=89474MT

here's a followup study:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20048224?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=9

Comments

[liveonearth.livejournal.com]

What about the baby sitter? That's the person on whose watch the child expired. Of course, the parents' psych histories and use of intoxicants will influence their circle of friends, and hence choice of baby sitters, so the extrapolations can go far.

[neptunia67.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Well, I wasn't looking at that correlation. I figured they meant there was some sort of biological link between people who experience mental instability and the incidences of SIDS. My friend doesn't have a history of drug or alcohol use, and the babysitter was a day care center. So not sure how that all fits together.

[liveonearth.livejournal.com]

The connection I see is between being f(*&ked up and not taking good care of your baby. Notice how the association with the mother alone is almost as significant as the association with both parents. The mother is the primary caregiver of infants in most families. I don't think SIDS is usually due to genetic causes. I think these findings highlight a lack in the nurture department. But then, I think that most insanity and substance abuse are reactions to insane circumstances (also mainly not genetic, though a few are).