fbpx

Research Shows Genetic Element to SIDS

SIDS
Sleeping baby | Image by Prostock-studio/Shutterstock

study published in JAMA Network Open on January 25 reveals a possibility that genetics may play a role in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

SIDS, also known as crib death, is described as the “unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old,” according to the Mayo Clinic. It is documented as being caused by numerous physical, environmental, and sleep factors and even maternal behaviors.

These risk factors include brain defects, low birth weight, overheating, premature birth, mother’s activities before delivery, and more.

The new study examined 2.6 million births in Denmark over 39 years between 1978 and 2016. Out of this, a total of 1,540 infants died due to SIDS. The researchers observed a higher rate of SIDS — by a factor of four — among the siblings of previous SIDS victims compared with the general population.

According to the findings, a sibling of a child who died of SIDS should be closely watched.

Dr. Michael Goodstein, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on SIDS, who reviewed the study, commented that “other studies, including ones in the U.S. and the U.K., have shown a small but real increase in the risk of SIDS for subsequent siblings.”

Dr. Richard Goldstein, director of Robert’s Program on Sudden Unexpected Death in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, said that these findings provide more evidence for the medical nature of the affliction. “We’ve known for a long time that there is heritable risk in SIDS.”

“The popular view is that SIDS involves normal children who end up in dangerous sleep positions or environments, and then suffocate,” Goldstein said. “While suffocation does occur, that is not what we study as SIDS. We work under the hypothesis that these deaths occur in infants with inapparent vulnerabilities who die when confronted with modest threats — threats a normal baby would survive.”

Goldstein stressed that there is not only one cause for SIDS and that, although genetics plays a role, other considerations, such as an increased risk of heart trouble and epilepsy, also need to be considered.

Previous research from the National Library of Medicine, using targeted genetic studies, also suggested that because death associated with SIDS can be understood as an outcome of an illness rather than an illness itself, SIDS can logically be designated as an undiagnosed disease.

Research using this form of technology determined that a multifactorial genetic model could be applied to explain SIDS.

Support our non-profit journalism

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Continue reading on the app
Expand article