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Sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, is a rare but devastating event in which an apparently healthy infant dies suddenly, unexpectedly, and unexplainedly. The exact cause of SIDS is unknown, but we do know that certain external stressors, such as becoming tangled in bedding, can increase the risk.
Without determining what actually causes SIDS, however, there is no hope of finding a cure. Check out this gallery to learn about SIDS and the race to find its cause and cure.
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is best defined as the "sudden, unexpected, and unexplained death of an apparently healthy baby."
Sometimes known as "cot death," SIDS usually occurs while a baby is asleep, although it can also happen while they are awake.
Devastating as it is, SIDS is rare and the risk of a baby dying from it is low. In the UK, for example, only around 200 babies die suddenly and unexpectedly each year.
The exact cause of SIDS is currently unknown, but it is believed there are a number of contributing factors. The leading theory is the Triple Risk Model.
According to this model, for SIDS to occur, a baby must be at a particular stage in their development, as well as vulnerable to certain external stressors.
Exactly what causes this ‘vulnerability’ is unknown. It may be caused by being born prematurely, having a low birth weight, or because of other reasons yet to be identified.
For decades the focus has been on reducing exposure to external stressors, in a bid to bring down the number of SIDS cases.
There is also an association between co-sleeping (sleeping with your baby on a bed, sofa, or chair) and the occurrence of SIDS.
In the years after these risk factors were identified and parents received official recommendations for putting their baby to sleep, the number of infants dying of SIDS decreased.
In the US, for example, 155 in 100,000 infants were dying suddenly in their sleep from causes including SIDS in 1990.
By 2000 that number had fallen to 93 in every 100,000, and similar rates of decline were seen around the world.
Over the last 20 years, however, we have seen that decline plateau. In 2020, for example, the rate was also 93 in every 100,000.
Sudden overnight deaths are largely still a mystery, and the search is very much on to find the cause and the cure.
In December 2021, there was great excitement when a study was released that looked at activity levels of the blood enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BChE).
In the study, which looked at 700 babies including 26 who died from SIDS, the SIDS infants were found, on average, to have decreased BChE activity.
Following the publication of the study, there was a very enthusiastic press release, and headlines around the world claimed that the study’s authors had found the ‘cause’ of SIDS.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. At this stage, a lower BChE level is only a biomarker. More research is needed to confirm whether it could be considered a cause.
Furthermore, it is important to remember that it was the average level of BChE activity that differed between the SIDS babies and the controls; the ranges between the groups overlapped.
This means that it could be difficult to determine exactly which level of BChE activity could indicate a problem, if any.
Then there’s the question of what to do with the information, if indeed it is determined that a certain level of BChE activity is potentially problematic.
We do not yet know what advice to give to parents whose children could be vulnerable. Coupled with the fact that the majority of children with this biomarker will not die of SIDS, there is the risk of scaring parents unnecessarily.
In the meantime, therefore, healthcare providers continue to offer parents ‘safe sleep’ advice, i.e. tips on how to reduce the risk of SIDS.
Most of the time, advice includes some positive actions (the ‘do’s’) and some things to avoid (the ‘don'ts).
Parents are normally advised, for example, to put their baby to sleep on their back and with their feet touching the end of the cot, Moses basket, or pram.
They are also advised to avoid smoking in the same room as their baby, and to avoid sleeping together with their baby on the same bed, sofa, or armchair.
Identifying these risk factors is not a silver bullet, however. In order to find a cure for SIDS, scientists first need to identify its cause.
Sources: (Nationwide Children's Hospital) (BBC) (NHS)
See also: What is cord blood, and who are the celebrity parents banking it?
The search to understand sudden infant death syndrome
The race to find the cause and cure for SIDS
HEALTH Sids
Sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, is a rare but devastating event in which an apparently healthy infant dies suddenly, unexpectedly, and unexplainedly. The exact cause of SIDS is unknown, but we do know that certain external stressors, such as becoming tangled in bedding, can increase the risk.
Without determining what actually causes SIDS, however, there is no hope of finding a cure. Check out this gallery to learn about SIDS and the race to find its cause and cure.