Conflict over cot deaths

Press, 13 February 1981, Page 9

Conflict over cot deaths

PA Wellington The cause of cot deaths remains unclear although some recent evidence has suggested that it may be linked to inherited breathing deficiencies.

In an address to the annual meeting of the Royal Australian College of Physicians, Professor Trevor Gebbie, of the Wellington Clinical School of Medicine, described the theory as “still ’somewhat

speculative” becuse of the conflicting results achieved by different studies. If an inherited factor was concerned, he said, there was a strong possibility of being able to predict those children who would be most at risk, and therefore take preventive action. Sudden infant death syndrome —■ the medical name for cot deaths — is the most common cause of Infant deaths. One in 500 children bom in New Zealand becomes a victim of the syndrome. A study in New Jersey last year concluded that an inherited factor was involved in cot deaths. The six sets of parents studied, all of whom had lost a child in a cot death, showed a significant breathing deficiency. ■ Another American study last year, however, had a completely opposite result. “A familial abnormality

in breathing is not the basis of sudden infant death syndrome,” the study concluded. Professor Gebbie described a study conducted at Wellington Hospital last year of seven sets of parents and two mothers of cot-death infants. Abnormality was found in only two sets of parents. The findings supported the possibility, of inherited factors having some role in cot deaths, he said. These three studies were the only ones that had been done to date, and had used only a small sample of parents. “Whether an inherited factor exists is still uncertain,” Professor Gebbie said. “We have not found sufficient evidence of inherited abnormality.” In current literature two opposing views were held, he said, and the field for additional study was consequentlywide open.