Second-trimester maternal serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein and the subsequent risk of sudden infant death syndrome

The New England Journal of Medicine
Gordon C S SmithRichard Dobbie

Abstract

Unexplained stillbirth and the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) share some features. A raised maternal serum level of alpha-fetoprotein during the second trimester of pregnancy is a marker of placental dysfunction and a strong predictor of the risk of unexplained stillbirth. It is unknown whether alpha-fetoprotein levels also predict the risk of SIDS. We linked a prenatal-screening database for women in western Scotland with databases of maternity, perinatal death, and birth and death certifications to assess the association between second-trimester levels of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein and the subsequent risk of SIDS. Among 214,532 women with singleton births, there were 114 cases of SIDS (incidence, 2.7 per 10,000 births among women with alpha-fetoprotein levels in the lowest quintile and 7.5 per 10,000 births among those with levels in the highest quintile). When the lowest quintile was used as a referent, the unadjusted odds ratios for SIDS for the second through fifth quintiles were 1.7 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.8 to 3.5), 1.8 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.9 to 3.7), 2.5 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.3 to 4.8), and 2.8 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.4 to 5.4), respectively (P for trend = 0.00...Continue Reading

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Citations

Nov 21, 2007·Lancet·Gordon C S Smith, Ruth C Fretts
Sep 3, 2004·The New England Journal of Medicine·Michael H Malloy
Mar 11, 2005·Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology·Brian J Koos
Jul 6, 2006·Emerging Themes in Epidemiology·Ingvild DalenMagne Thoresen
Apr 7, 2007·Pediatric Research·Suvi ViskariTurkka Kirjavainen
Jul 4, 2008·PLoS Medicine·Gordon C S SmithMichael Fleming
Feb 20, 2009·Prenatal Diagnosis·Christine BrochetMaguy Bernard
Sep 19, 2012·Journal of Clinical Nursing·Michael FlemingKay I Penny
Dec 20, 2005·Lancet·Gordon C S SmithRichard Dobbie
Jan 6, 2006·Obstetrics and Gynecology·Gordon C S SmithRichard Dobbie
Sep 11, 2019·Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology·Richard D GoldsteinUNKNOWN 3rd International Congress on Sudden Infant and Child Death
Jul 29, 2015·Social History of Medicine : the Journal of the Society for the Social History of Medicine·Angus H Ferguson

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