Epidemiology

SIDS remains a leading cause of postneonatal infant death.[6]​ In the US in the early 2000s, the incidence of SIDS was 0.5 to 0.6 per 1000 live births, a decrease of roughly 50% compared with 10 years earlier (incidence 1.2 per 1000 live births).[7]​ The incidence of SIDS in 2012 ranged from <0.1 per 1000 live births in the Netherlands to 0.42 per 1000 live births in the US and >0.5 per 1000 live births in New Zealand.[8] By definition, SIDS occurs in children who are <1 year of age. However, the peak incidence is in the 1- to 3-month age group, and decreases significantly at the extremes of infancy.[7]​ SIDS is slightly more prevalent among male infants.[9] In the US, the lowest rate of SIDS is found in Asian infants (roughly half that of white infants), whereas the highest rates are found in black and American Indian infants (twofold increase compared with white infants).[10] The association of rate with ancestry has also been observed elsewhere; in Australia, the incidence of SIDS in Aboriginal infants has been reported to be almost 3-fold greater than in non-Aboriginal infants.[11]​​​

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