Basic Summary for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Main name of condition: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Other names or spellings: SIDS, Cot death, Crib death

What is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?
Brief description of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Sudden death of an infant under 1 year without obvious cause.
Parent types of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Infant conditions, Death

How many people get Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?
Incidence (annual) of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: 2 per 1,000
Incidence Rate of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: approx 1 in 500 or 0.20% or 544,000 people in USA [about data]

Who gets Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?
Patient Profile for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Infant from 1 to 12 months; about 75% under 6 months
Race Profile for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: African American babies 2-3 times more likely than Caucasian; Native American 3:1.

How serious is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?
Average life years lost for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: 75.6 in North Carolina¹.
Deaths for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: 2,648 deaths (NHLBI 1999)

What causes Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?
  Cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Unknown. Possibly hidden brain abnormalities.
  Causes of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: see causes of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
  Risk factors for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: see risk factors for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

What are the symptoms of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?
Seasonality of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: more common in cold months

How is it treated?
Prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: see prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Society issues for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Hospitalization statistics for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome:

0.0001% (10) of hospital consultant episodes were for sudden infant death syndrome in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
100% of hospital consultant episodes for sudden infant death syndrome required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
60% of hospital consultant episodes for sudden infant death syndrome were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
40% of hospital consultant episodes for sudden infant death syndrome were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
70% of hospital consultant episodes for sudden infant death syndrome required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
0.7 days was the mean length of stay in hospitals for sudden infant death syndrome in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
0 days was the median length of stay in hospitals for sudden infant death syndrome in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
0 was the mean age of patients hospitalised for sudden infant death syndrome in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
0% of hospital consultant episodes for sudden infant death syndrome occurred in 15-59 year olds in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
0% of hospital consultant episodes for sudden infant death syndrome occurred in people over 75 in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
0% of hospital consultant episodes for sudden infant death syndrome were single day episodes in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
0.00001% (7) of hospital bed days were for sudden infant death syndrome in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)

Footnotes:
1. Years of Potential Life Lost in North Carolina, NCMJ March/April 2002, Volume 63, Number 2

Last revision: June 18, 2003

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