Review: bed sharing between parents and infants exposed to smoke may increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

摘要

The systematic review by Horsley ef a/ .examining the benefits and harms of bed sharing makes an important contribution to the literature because it is well done, comprehensive, and up" to date. Although the overall rate of SIDS is decreasing to a reported 1 in 1000 live births,1 SIDS remains a leading cause of death in infants. In the US, the SIDS rates for infants of non-Hispanic black and American Indian mothers are more than double the rates for infants of non-Hispanic "white mothers.2 Thus, there are major' differences in death rates among population subgroups, and researchers should continue to seek an increased understanding .of causes to aid in developing prevenfative strategies.The findings of Horsley ef ol sfcongly suggest that the increased risk of SiDS with bed sharing is greater in infants exposed to cigarette smoke ' than In those not exposed to smoke. Wheiher bed sharing is a risk factor for SIDS in infants in non-smoking environments remains less dear.. Although it is" not ideal .to "Identify practice Implications from research findings based on case-control and-cohori studies, practice changes are warranted when randomised controlled Mais are dot a possibility. Public health messages should be "developed-to discourage bed sharing in-homes where Infants are exposed to .cigarette smoke. Although the authors did not address the effects of sleeping in the same room, other studies indicate that the SIDS rate Is halved when babies <6 monihs of age sleep in the same room as their caretakers.1 Sleeping dose to' the parents' bed can, therefore, be strongly encouraged as a safe alternative to bed sharing.