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Unexplained Death due to Possible Infectious Diseases in Infants-United States, 2006
The Journal of Pediatrics, 08/03/2012
Taylor CA et al. – Many factors may contribute to an infant's death being classified as a unexplained death due to possible infectious causes (UDPIC), including race and marital status. Other factors, such as Hispanic ethnicity and maternal age, also may play a role. Infant characteristics, such as birth weight, may be related to factors that influence the decision not to conduct a postmortem examination in infant death cases. Additional research is needed to determine the true extent of infectious disease and its relationship to UDPIC in infants.
Methods- Infant deaths meeting the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision code inclusion and exclusion criteria for UDPIC were selected from the 2006 US Linked Birth and Infant Death data set.
- Two control groups of surviving and nonsurviving infants were selected and compared with the infants with UDPIC using a case-control study design with multivariate logistic regression models stratified by birth weight category.
- Comparisons with infants with identified infectious causes of death were also made.
- During 2006, 3570 infant deaths (12.5% of all US infant deaths) were categorized as a UDPIC.
- The highest rates for these unexplained infants deaths were found in blacks and American Indians/Alaska Natives.
- Infants of black mothers were more likely to experience UDPIC. Birth weight was a significant effect modifier in these models.