Infection, health problems, and health care utilisation, and the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

Aim: To examine whether symptoms suggestive of infection, health problems, and health care utilisation are risk factors for SIDS.

Methods: Matched case-control study with 333 SIDS infants and 998 control infants matched for region, age, gender, and reference sleep. Information was obtained by parental interview, paediatrician completed questionnaire, and hospital admission data.

Results: No symptoms were associated with SIDS after adjustment for potential confounders. Illness in the last four weeks as reported by the paediatrician did not differ between cases and controls. Developmental problems and special investigations at any stage of life significantly increased the risk of SIDS (adjusted OR = 2.14 and 2.07). Admission to hospital after the first week of life was associated with an increased risk of SIDS (adjusted OR = 1.88).

Conclusion: Symptoms of infection and illness are no longer risk factors for SIDS in communities such as Germany where few infants sleep prone. The increased risk of SIDS with developmental problems may indicate that infants which subsequently die of SIDS are abnormal or in some way vulnerable.