February 21, 2002
Biochemical tests show relationship between environmental tobacco smoke and the risk of SIDS
Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children, the University of Toronto and the University of Maryland have shown the relationship between environmental tobacco smoke and the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) using biochemical tests. Higher concentrations of nicotine were found in the lungs of SIDS victims compared with infants whose deaths were not attributed to SIDS, regardless of whether smoking was reported by the parents or not. This research is reported in the February issue of The Journal of Pediatrics.
Studies have documented that smoking during pregnancy and after birth are two major and independent risk factors for SIDS. However, past studies on SIDS and smoking have relied on parental reports. There is evidence that families may not volunteer accurate information about cigarette smoking probably because of guilt, perception of fetal risk, or litigious fear. This research was the first to use objective, biochemical tests (concentrations of nicotine in lung tissue) to look at the correlation between smoking and SIDS deaths.
"This research shows that a baby's exposure to second-hand smoke during the postnatal period (up to six months) is a risk factor for SIDS," said Dr. Gideon Koren, the study's principal investigator, a senior scientist in The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute and a professor of Paediatrics, Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Medicine and Medical Genetics at the University of Toronto.
Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), also known as second-hand smoke, has greater amounts of ammonia, benzene, carbon monoxide, nicotine, and carcinogens such as nitrosamines in contrast with mainstream smoke. Since the lung is the port of entry for environmental tobacco smoke, the measurement of nicotine levels in lung tissue indicates the baby's exposure to smoke after birth.
"We now need to improve the use of biological markers of exposure to toxic substances when we try to determine the risk of SIDS and other paediatric conditions. Such techniques will help define why some babies are affected while others are not," added Dr. Koren, who is also a holder of a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Senior Investigator Award.
This research was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Brain and Tissue Bank for Developmental Disorders (funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in the United States), the Canadian Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, and The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation.
The Hospital for Sick Children, affiliated with the University of Toronto, is the largest paediatric academic health science centre in Canada and one of the largest in the world. Its mission is to provide the best in family-centred, compassionate care, to lead in scientific and clinical advancement, and to prepare the next generation of leaders in child health. The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute is a world-class scientific research centre performing basic and clinical research leading to the improved understanding, prevention, treatment and care of children's diseases. For more information, please visit www.sickkids.ca.
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