Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Archives of Disease in Childhood logoLink to Archives of Disease in Childhood
. 1994 Apr;70(4):291–294. doi: 10.1136/adc.70.4.291

Reduction in mortality from sudden infant death syndrome in New Zealand: 1986-92.

E A Mitchell 1, J M Brunt 1, C Everard 1
PMCID: PMC1029781  PMID: 8185361

Abstract

Mortality from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS, or cot death) in New Zealand has been high by international standards (4/1000 live births). Within New Zealand the rate is higher in Maori than in non-Maori (predominantly European infants) and higher in South Island than in North Island. The National Cot Death Prevention Programme aims to reduce the prevalence of four modifiable risk factors for SIDS, namely infants sleeping prone, maternal smoking, lack of breast feeding, and infants sharing a bed with another person. The aim of this study is to describe the total postneonatal and total SIDS mortality in New Zealand from 1986 to 1992. Official publications from 1986 to 1990 and preliminary death notifications for 1991 and 1992 were examined. Deaths from all causes in the postneonatal age group (28 days to 1 year) and the total number of deaths from SIDS irrespective of age decreased markedly in 1990 and has continued to decrease. This decrease occurred particularly in non-Maori groups, in South Island, and in the winter months. The proportion of infants sleeping in a prone position has decreased from 43% to less than 5%. This suggests that the prone position is causally related to SIDS. The mechanism appears to be related directly or indirectly to environmental temperature.

Full text

PDF
291

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Emery J. L., Scholey S., Taylor E. M. Decline in breast feeding. Arch Dis Child. 1990 Apr;65(4 Spec No):369–372. doi: 10.1136/adc.65.4_spec_no.369. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Engelberts A. C., de Jonge G. A. Choice of sleeping position for infants: possible association with cot death. Arch Dis Child. 1990 Apr;65(4):462–467. doi: 10.1136/adc.65.4.462. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Haglund B., Cnattingius S. Cigarette smoking as a risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome: a population-based study. Am J Public Health. 1990 Jan;80(1):29–32. doi: 10.2105/ajph.80.1.29. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Mitchell E. A. Cot death and overheating. N Z Med J. 1991 Apr 10;104(909):148–149. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Mitchell E. A., Ford R. P., Taylor B. J., Stewart A. W., Becroft D. M., Scragg R., Barry D. M., Allen E. M., Roberts A. P., Hassall I. B. Further evidence supporting a causal relationship between prone sleeping position and SIDS. J Paediatr Child Health. 1992;28 (Suppl 1):S9–12. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1754.1992.tb02732.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Mitchell E. A., Scragg R., Stewart A. W., Becroft D. M., Taylor B. J., Ford R. P., Hassall I. B., Barry D. M., Allen E. M., Roberts A. P. Results from the first year of the New Zealand cot death study. N Z Med J. 1991 Feb 27;104(906):71–76. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Mitchell E. A., Taylor B. J., Ford R. P., Stewart A. W., Becroft D. M., Thompson J. M., Scragg R., Hassall I. B., Barry D. M., Allen E. M. Four modifiable and other major risk factors for cot death: the New Zealand study. J Paediatr Child Health. 1992;28 (Suppl 1):S3–S8. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1754.1992.tb02729.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Mitchell E. A., Tonkin S. Publicity and infants' sleeping position. BMJ. 1993 Mar 27;306(6881):858–858. doi: 10.1136/bmj.306.6881.858-b. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Nelson E. A., Taylor B. J., Weatherall I. L. Sleeping position and infant bedding may predispose to hyperthermia and the sudden infant death syndrome. Lancet. 1989 Jan 28;1(8631):199–201. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(89)91211-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Ponsonby A. L., Dwyer T., Gibbons L. E., Cochrane J. A., Wang Y. G. Factors potentiating the risk of sudden infant death syndrome associated with the prone position. N Engl J Med. 1993 Aug 5;329(6):377–382. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199308053290601. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Schoendorf K. C., Kiely J. L. Relationship of sudden infant death syndrome to maternal smoking during and after pregnancy. Pediatrics. 1992 Dec;90(6):905–908. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Scragg L. K., Mitchell E. A., Tonkin S. L., Hassall I. B. Evaluation of the cot death prevention programme in South Auckland. N Z Med J. 1993 Jan 27;106(948):8–10. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Stewart A., Mitchell E. A., Tipene-Leach D., Fleming P. Lessons from the New Zealand and UK cot death campaigns. Acta Paediatr Suppl. 1993 Jun;82 (Suppl 389):119–123. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1993.tb12897.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Taylor B. J. A review of epidemiological studies of sudden infant death syndrome in southern New Zealand. J Paediatr Child Health. 1991 Dec;27(6):344–348. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1754.1991.tb00416.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Archives of Disease in Childhood are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES