Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Vennemann, M
• Fischer, D
• Jorch, G
• Bajanowski, T

Titel

Prevention of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) due to an active health monitoring system 20 years prior to the public “Back to Sleep” campaigns

Ist Teil von

• Archives of disease in childhood, 2006-04, Vol.91 (4), p.324-326

Ort / Verlag

London: BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

Erscheinungsjahr

2006

Quelle

BMJ Journals Archiv - DFG Nationallizenzen

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Background: Before reunification, the post-neonatal mortality rate was lower in East Germany than in West Germany. Moreover, the incidence of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) was much lower in the East. Methods: Mortality data on sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) from West and East Germany since 1980 as well as post-neonatal mortality data for both states since 1970 were examined. 95% Confidence intervals were calculated for the rates. Witnesses from the former East Germany who were involved at the time were also interviewed and archives were searched. Results: We found that as early as 1972 active monitoring of infant and child mortality rates in East Germany had shown that the prone sleeping position was dangerous for infants: the post-neonatal mortality rate was approximately 1 per 1000 live births lower in East than in West Germany during the 20 years before reunification. In contrast, in the West, prone sleeping was only discovered to be a risk factor for SIDS in the early 1990s. Conclusions: Active monitoring is an effective tool in the early detection of risk factors and serves to prevent unnecessary deaths.