Hormone Levels May Be Increased in Sids

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Higher levels of the hormone testosterone are found in victims of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) than in infants who have died suddenly from other causes, results of a multicenter study suggest.

There are several lines of evidence suggesting a link between SIDS and sex hormone levels, such as the correlation between the rise in sex hormone levels and the age range of risk for SIDS. Moreover, testosterone levels are associated with sleep disordered breathing in adults, Dr. Michael J. Emery and associates note in their report published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Also important, they add, is the finding that "alteration of testosterone and estrogen levels modifies (nerve structure) and function in older and younger male and female animals, so postnatal increases in those hormones could produce changes in otherwise-normal infants."

To test their hypothesis, Emery, from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, and his team compared hormone levels in blood collected from 169 infants who had died of SIDS and 42 who died of other causes.

Among boys and girls, testosterone levels were significantly higher in victims of SIDS. By contrast, levels of estradiol, an estrogen-type hormone, did not differ significantly between SIDS victims and those who died from other causes.

"Further research is needed to determine whether testosterone is abnormal in living infants at risk for SIDS and to determine the value of monitoring testosterone or related hormones to identify those infants at increased risk of SIDS," the authors conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of Pediatrics, November 2005.