SIDS highest on New Year's Day

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Sudden infant death syndrome may be linked to alcohol consumption in parents, U.S. researchers suggest.

Study leader David Phillips of the University of California, San Diego, says the number of babies who die of SIDS goes up dramatically -- 33 percent -- on New Year's Day. They suspect alcohol consumption by their caretakers may play a role.

The study, published in the journal Addiction, suggests three types of evidence link SIDS to alcohol. SIDS and alcohol consumption both increase on New Year's more than on any other day of the year. Both SIDS and alcohol consumption increase on weekends. Lastly, there is a high SIDS rate in babies of mothers who drink. These babies were more than twice as likely to die of SIDS, the researchers say.

Phillips and colleagues examined 129,090 SIDS cases from 1973 to 2006 using three multi-year nationwide data sets: Computerized death certificates, the linked birth and infant death data set and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

The researchers noted the "Back to Sleep" campaign informing caregivers infants need to be put on their backs to sleep -- was implemented in 1994. They said SIDS -- also known as "crib death" -- still continues to be the leading cause of death for babies between 1 month and 1 year.