[Smoking and sudden infant death]. / Rygning og pludselig uventet spaedbarnsdød.

ABSTRACT

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a death where autopsy and other examinations cannot explain the proper cause of death. Epidemiologic studies have recognized some risk factors, namely prone sleeping position, lack of breast feeding, overheating, and maternal smoking. In Denmark, the official recommendation concerning the prone sleeping position was changed in December 1991, and since then the incidence of SIDS has been diminished by approximately 60-70%. A large number of epidemiologic studies find that there is a possible risk for SIDS in connection with maternal smoking. The odds ratio for a pregnant smoker to lose an infant to SIDS is about 2-4. Thirty to forty percent of Danish women smoke during pregnancy, and about half of all children are exposed to passive smoking in their homes. These data show that about 20% of the SIDS cases are due to maternal smoking. Further information and individual advice to pregnant, smoking women and their partners are needed. The authors suggest that this advice should become part of the existing ante-natal care programme.