MONDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) -- For unknown reasons, the infant mortality rate attributable to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed has quadrupled since 1984 in the United States, according to study findings published in the February issue of Pediatrics.
In their study, Carrie K. Shapiro-Mendoza, Ph.D., of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed national 1984-2004 infant mortality data.
The researchers found that the mortality rate per 100,000 live births for accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed increased from 2.8 in 1984 to 12.5 in 2004, while the mortality rate for sudden infant death syndrome decreased. They also found that the mortality rate was disproportionately high for black male infants under 4 months of age.
"Prevention efforts should target those at highest risk and focus on helping caregivers provide safer sleep environments," the authors conclude. "Increased understanding of the specific circumstances of sleep environments associated with accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed deaths may help researchers determine why recent safe-sleep promotion efforts have resulted in a reduction in sudden infant death syndrome, but not accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed deaths."
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