Distribution of prenatal and postnatal risk factors for sudden infant death in Budapest

OBJECTIVE: To study the distribution of prenatal and postnatal risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). DESIGN: A questionnaire-based survey for SIDS risk factors; family interviews were performed among the parents of SIDS victims and symptom-free infants. SETTING: The survey was conducted in paediatric primary health care units in Budapest, Hungary in the period 1996 to 1998. SUBJECT: Eighteen SIDS cases and 74 symptom-free healthy infants aged 7-365 days were investigated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Occurrence of risk factors and impact of social environment were analysed using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: In this study, the classic risk factors of small birth weight, maternal smoking, bottle-feeding did not reflect differences between the investigated groups. The prone position did not demonstrate a difference between SIDS cases and controls (p = 0.86). Short intervals between pregnancies (OR = 4.8, CI = 1.2-19.9, p = 0.025) and social disadvantage (OR = 6.7, CI = 1.3-35.7, p = 0.015) indicated significant differences between SIDS cases and controls. CONCLUSION: The outcome of our survey shows that infants from a lower social and economic environment may be at higher risk for SIDS.