Action on Smoking and Health  A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization  Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions       Info About ASH  | ash.org |  To Join ASH

Excerpts from SIDS LINKED TO HEAVY CIGARETTE SMOKE

Reuters [08/21/98]

Infants who died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) were more often heavily exposed to cigarette smoke than infants who died unexpectedly of other causes, Swedish researchers conclude.

Some experts believe that SIDS is caused by a problem with the body's normal response to oxygen deprivation. Studies have repeatedly identified maternal smoking during pregnancy and nursing as a risk factor for SIDS.

The current study suggests a relationship between short-term nicotine exposure and death from SIDS, according to the research team, led by Dr. Joseph Milerad, of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

The researchers reviewed autopsy results in all sudden and unexpected deaths in children younger than age 7 during a 3-year period in Oslo, Norway, and surrounding counties. During that time, 24 infants died of SIDS and 12 infants died suddenly of infections.

In all of these cases, researchers measured levels of cotinine in fluid taken from the pericardial sac, which encloses the heart. Cotinine is a substance produced when nicotine is absorbed by the body.

All of the infants who died of SIDS had levels of cotinine indicating that they had been exposed to nicotine. Most of them (92%) had levels suggesting significant exposure, and 25% ``had levels normally only found in habitual smokers,'' Milerad and his colleagues report in the August issue of the Journal of Pediatrics.

More than two thirds of the infants who died of infection also showed evidence of nicotine exposure, but levels were significantly lower, and none had ``excessive'' cotinine levels.

``The observation that death of SIDS is in almost all cases preceded by a significant exposure to nicotine is conspicuous and could suggest that acute heavy exposure may play a role,'' the researchers write.

``The clinical implication of this investigation is that promoting a tobacco-free environment for infants may be important in reducing the incidence of SIDS,'' they conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of Pediatrics 1998;133:232-236.

click here to return to ASH's Home Web Page: http://ash.org
click here for more information about Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
click here to learn the many benefits of joining ASH on-line, over the Internet