I. Kato et al., Developmental characteristics of apnea in infants who succumb to sudden infant death syndrome, AM J R CRIT, 164(8), 2001, pp. 1464-1469
We compared the breathing characteristics of 40 infants who subsequently di
ed of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) with those of 607 healthy infants
matched for sex and age. The infants were between 2 and 19 wk old at the t
ime of recording. Compared with the control group, the infants who died of
SIDS experienced significantly more frequent episodes of obstructive and mi
xed sleep apnea. The duration of the apneic episodes did not exceed 15 s. M
oreover, the SIDS group had a greater proportion of infants with obstructiv
e and mixed apneic episodes than did the control group. In both groups, the
frequency of episodes among male infants with apnea was greater than that
among female infants. After the age of 9 wk, the proportion of male infants
with. episodes of obstructive apnea was greater in the SIDS group than in
the control group. The frequency of apneic episodes decreased with age. The
rate of decrease was significantly greater in the control subjects than in
the SIDS group. This finding was made mainly in male infants. The present
study provides further indirect evidence for a slower maturation of respira
tory control in some infants who ultimately die of SIDS.