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. 2002 Jun;86(6):400–402. doi: 10.1136/adc.86.6.400

Breast feeding and the sudden infant death syndrome in Scandinavia, 1992–95

B Alm 1, G Wennergren 1, S Norvenius 1, R Skjaerven 1, H Lagercrantz 1, K Helweg-Larsen 1, L Irgens 1
PMCID: PMC1762985  PMID: 12023166

Abstract

Aims: To assess the effects of breast feeding habits on sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Methods: The analyses are based on data from the Nordic Epidemiological SIDS Study, a case–control study in which parents of SIDS victims in the Scandinavian countries between 1 September 1992 and 31 August 1995 were invited to participate, each with parents of four matched controls. The odds ratios presented were computed by conditional logistic regression analysis.

Results: After adjustment for smoking during pregnancy, paternal employment, sleeping position, and age of the infant, the adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) was 5.1 (2.3 to 11.2) if the infant was exclusively breast fed for less than four weeks, 3.7 (1.6 to 8.4) for 4–7 weeks, 1.6 (0.7 to 3.6) for 8–11 weeks, and 2.8 (1.2 to 6.8) for 12–15 weeks, with exclusive breast feeding over 16 weeks as the reference. Mixed feeding in the first week post partum did not increase the risk.

Conclusions: The study is supportive of a weak relation between breast feeding and SIDS reduction.

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Figure 1 .

Figure 1

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Percentage exclusively and partially breast fed infants at 4 months of age and SIDS incidence by year. Bars indicate percentage breast fed infants, and line SIDS incidence per 1000 live births.22 Breast feeding data by courtesy of Semper AB, Sweden.

Selected References

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

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