Lung tissue concentrations of nicotine in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

OBJECTIVE To compare lung concentrations of nicotine and cotinine in cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and controls. DESIGN/METHODS We measured lung tissue concentrations of nicotine and cotinine in SIDS (n = 44) and non-SIDS cases (n = 29) stratified according to household smoking status. RESULTS When all the SIDS and non-SIDS cases were compared regardless of smoking status, there was a significantly higher nicotine concentration in the SIDS cases than in the non-SIDS cases, (P =.0001). Upon stratifying for smoking status, there was a nonsignificant trend toward more nicotine in SIDS versus non-SIDS lungs that had come from a reported smoking environment. In the nonsmoking group, there were significantly higher nicotine concentrations in SIDS than non-SIDS cases (P =.001). CONCLUSIONS Children who died from SIDS tended to have higher concentrations of nicotine in their lungs than control children, regardless of whether smoking was reported. These results are based on an objective, biochemical test rather than history, and they further support the relationship between environmental tobacco smoke and the risk of SIDS.

[1]  T. Rognum,et al.  Objective measurements of nicotine exposure in victims of sudden infant death syndrome and in other unexpected child deaths. , 1998, The Journal of pediatrics.

[2]  D. Yach,et al.  Smoking in urban pregnant women in South Africa. , 1997, South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde.

[3]  M. Sanderson,et al.  A reexamination of the risk factors for the sudden infant death syndrome. , 1995, The Journal of pediatrics.

[4]  S. Edelstein,et al.  The effect of passive smoking and tobacco exposure through breast milk on sudden infant death syndrome. , 1995, JAMA.

[5]  G. Koren,et al.  Hair Concentrations of Nicotine and Cotinine in Women and Their Newborn Infants , 1994 .

[6]  J. Milerad,et al.  Nicotine and cotinine levels in pericardial fluid in victims of SIDS , 1994, Acta paediatrica.

[7]  E. Domino,et al.  The nicotine content of common vegetables. , 1993, The New England journal of medicine.

[8]  H. Hoffman,et al.  Sudden infant death syndrome and maternal smoking. , 1992, American journal of public health.

[9]  L. S. James,et al.  Defining the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS): deliberations of an expert panel convened by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. , 1991, Pediatric pathology.

[10]  E. Mitchell,et al.  Results from the first year of the New Zealand cot death study. , 1991, The New Zealand medical journal.

[11]  M. Willinger.  Defining the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) , 1991 .

[12]  E. Vesell,et al.  Metabolism of nicotine. , 1991, Drug metabolism reviews.

[13]  N. Benowitz.  Clinical pharmacology of inhaled drugs of abuse: implications in understanding nicotine dependence. , 1990, NIDA research monograph.

[14]  S Cnattingius,et al.  Cigarette smoking as a risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome: a population-based study. , 1990, American journal of public health.

[15]  G. Koren,et al.  Determinants of recall and recall bias in studying drug and chemical exposure in pregnancy. , 1989, Teratology.

[16]  N. Mcglashan.  Sudden infant deaths in Tasmania, 1980-1986: a seven year prospective study. , 1989, Social science & medicine.

[17]  P. Rintahaka,et al.  The epidemiology of sudden infant death syndrome in Finland in 1969-1980. , 1986, Forensic science international.

[18]  Education . Office on Smoking,et al.  The health consequences of involuntary smoking : a report of the Surgeon General , 1986 .

[19]  I. Frantz,et al.  To breathe or not to breathe--what have we learned about apneic spells and sudden infant death? , 1983, The New England journal of medicine.

[20]  R G Newcombe,et al.  The epidemiology of sudden infant death syndrome , 1982, Journal of epidemiology and community health.

[21]  D. Peterson.  The sudden infant death syndrome--reassessment of growth retardation in relation to maternal smoking and the hypoxia hypothesis. , 1981, American journal of epidemiology.

[22]  A. Pilotti.  Biosynthesis and mammalian metabolism of nicotine. , 1980, Acta physiologica Scandinavica. Supplementum.

[23]  R. Naeye,et al.  Sudden infant death syndrome. A prospective study. , 1976, American journal of diseases of children.

[24]  A. Bergman,et al.  Relationship of passive cigarette-smoking to sudden infant death syndrome. , 1976, Pediatrics.

[25]  T. Ludden,et al.  Binding of organic compounds to rat liver and lung. , 1976, Drug Metabolism And Disposition.

[26]  J. J. Langone,et al.  Nicotine and its metabolites. Radioimmunoassays for nicotine and cotinine. , 1973, Biochemistry.

[27]  R. Steele,et al.  The relationship of antenatal and postnatal factors to sudden unexpected death in infancy. , 1966, Canadian Medical Association journal.