Editor’s Note: Dr. Abby Temple (she/her/hers) is a resident physician in the Boston Combined Residency Program. She is interested in the integration of advocacy and health equity research into undergraduate medical education. Abby is interested in pursuing a fellowship specializing in gastroenterology or critical care. -Rachel Y. Moon, MD, Associate Editor, Digital Media, Pediatrics
Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), whether from sudden infant death syndrome or unintentional injury deaths, remains the leading cause of infant mortality in the US.
A prior study analyzing trends in SUID found an increase in SUID rates among non–Hispanic Black (NHB) infants, but not among other racial and ethnic infant groups in 2020 in the US.
A new article being early released in Pediatrics this week, by Dr. Carrie Shapiro-Mendoza and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, analyzed SUID rates from 2015 to 2022 to further understand this trend (10.1542/peds.2024-069558).
This study confirms a previously observed trend of decreased rates of SUID from 2015 to 2019, followed by a significant increase from 2019 to 2022. These increases were highest among NHB, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic Asian infants.
SUID rates were also 2-fold higher among NHB and non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaskan Native infants compared to non-Hispanic white infants, and this disparity had widened when compared to the prior study published in 2023.
The authors mention several factors that could contribute to this increase in SUID incidence, including the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in SUID certification practices in documentation. While the article did not investigate causative factors for worsening disparities, the authors proposed the disparities are likely due to social drivers of health.
This paper emphasizes the necessity to continue investing in public health initiatives that work to address barriers to safe sleep and empower families of different racial and ethnic backgrounds to optimize infant safety.
