Incidence of Recurrence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Incidence figures for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) are affected by the specific population being studied, the method of data collection, the way in which the diagnosis is determined, and other variables. The occurrence of SIDS per 100 live births has been estimated to be 1.3 in Norway, 2.1 in South Australia, and 2 to 3 in the United States. Subsequent siblings are at increased risk of SIDS, with estimates ranging from 3.7 times that of the general population to as high as 10 times.
Beal et al found that families in South Australia who lost a child older than 12 months of age to SIDS were 11 times more likely to have a subsequent child with SIDS than were families in which the SIDS victim was younger than 1 year of age.
