A Unifying Theory for SIDS

Table 1

US Mortality Data for 1979–2005 showing infant respiratory deaths with statistically similar male fraction as SIDS and sets of older child suffocation deaths by inhalation of food or foreign object having the statistically similar male fraction as 0.606 for SIDS [6].

Disease*	Age	ICD 9 Codes 1979–1998	ICD 10 Codes 1999–2005	Male death	Female death	Male fraction	Chi-square 𝑃- value for 1 d.f.
SIDS	28–364 days	798.0	R95	62,933	40,952	0.606	Reference
RDS	0–364	769	P22.0	39,990	25,590	0.610	0.036
BPD	0–364	770.7	P27.1	6,547	4,127	0.613	0.11
ASSB	0–364	913.0	W75	2,843	1,948	0.593	0.08
UNK	0–364	799.9	R99	9,931	6,695	0.597	0.025
AULRI	0–364	460–466	J00-J06	1,712	1,053	0.619	0.15
SIFFO+IGC	0–364	911, 912	W78-W80	2,035	1,356	0.600	0.52
SIFFO+IGC	1–4 years	911, 912	W78-W80	1,651	1,034	0.615	0.31
SIFFO+IGC	5–9	911, 912	W78-W80	371	272	0.577	0.14
SIFFO+IGC	10–14	911, 912	W78-W80	302	209	0.591	0.49
SIFFO+IGC	1–14	911, 912	W78-W80	2,324	1,515	0.605	0.98

^∗RDS: Respiratory distress syndrome; BPD: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia; ASSB: Accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed; UNK: Unknown ill-defined unspecified causes; AULRI: Acute upper and lower respiratory infections; SIFFO: Suffocation from inhalation of food or foreign object; IGC: W78 Inhalation of gastric contents (not defined separately in ICD 9).