Despite a dramatic overall drop in the number of cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) following the “Back to Sleep” campaign, a relatively large number of cases still occur on weekends, particularly on Sundays.

That picture emerges from an analysis of UK data, which show that infants younger than 4 months of age appear to be particularly vulnerable.

The reason for the increased rate of SIDS on weekends is “speculative,” investigators note in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. One theory is that parents may be less attentive to their infants on weekends.

Dr. Peter J. Helms from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and others looked at the number and timing of SIDS cases using national statistics for England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland over two time periods: 1986 to 1990, before the “Back to Sleep” campaign, and 1993 to 1998, after its introduction.

They report that during the entire period 12-year period, 12,762 SIDS deaths were reported. Overall, the number fell from 1,718 in 1986 to 395 in 1998 - a drop of roughly 75 percent.

However, for each time period, there were significantly more SIDS deaths on Saturdays and Sundays than “expected by chance,” the team reports. The percentage of infants dying of SIDS on a weekend in the later period (32.24 percent) was about the same as during the earlier period (31.30 percent).

The “weekend effect” was more pronounced in infants 4 months of age or younger, in both time periods and particularly so in the later period (1993 to 1998).

“The increased rates at weekends, particularly on Sundays, and in the youngest infants could be an indicator of the need to improve access to health care and professional advice and support at weekends for families,” Helms told Reuters Health.

SOURCE: Archives of Disease in Childhood, July 2004.