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]

Yeah, you're right, bottom line is that infants are fragile and they're not guaranteed to live...there are so many systems that could malfunction, and science is of limited utility in understanding death. Whether the parents are users/headcases or not, it's a horrible thing to lose a child.