Biomaterial Database

Investigation into sudden infant deaths and unascertained infant deaths in England and Wales, 1995-2003. 2005

Tania Corbin

Office for National Statistics.

This article investigates whether the decline in the sudden infant death rates and the rise in unascertained death rates during the period 1995-2003 were linked. It concludes that changes in certification practices surrounding sudden infant deaths and unascertained deaths suggest that it is becoming more difficult to distinguish between these two causes of death. In addition, there is a huge overlap in the characteristics of babies whose deaths are certified as sudden infant death and those whose death is unascertained. These terms are to some extent used interchangeably. Based on this evidence it seems appropriate to include both groups in any analysis of unexplained infant deaths.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D008297	Male		Males
D009026	Mortality	All deaths reported in a given population.	CFR Case Fatality Rate,Crude Death Rate,Crude Mortality Rate,Death Rate,Age Specific Death Rate,Age-Specific Death Rate,Case Fatality Rate,Decline, Mortality,Determinants, Mortality,Differential Mortality,Excess Mortality,Mortality Decline,Mortality Determinants,Mortality Rate,Mortality, Differential,Mortality, Excess,Age-Specific Death Rates,Case Fatality Rates,Crude Death Rates,Crude Mortality Rates,Death Rate, Age-Specific,Death Rate, Crude,Death Rates,Determinant, Mortality,Differential Mortalities,Excess Mortalities,Mortalities,Mortality Declines,Mortality Determinant,Mortality Rate, Crude,Mortality Rates,Rate, Age-Specific Death,Rate, Case Fatality,Rate, Crude Death,Rate, Crude Mortality,Rate, Death,Rate, Mortality,Rates, Case Fatality
D003644	Death Certificates	Official records of individual deaths including the cause of death certified by a physician, and any other required identifying information.	Death Records,Certificate, Death,Certificates, Death,Death Certificate,Death Record,Record, Death,Records, Death
D004739	England	A part of Great Britain within the United Kingdom.
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D013398	Sudden Infant Death	The abrupt and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant under one year of age, remaining unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history. (Pediatr Pathol 1991 Sep-Oct;11(5):677-84)	Cot Death,Crib Death,SIDS,Death, Sudden Infant,SID,Sudden Infant Death Syndrome,Cot Deaths,Death, Cot,Death, Crib,Infant Death, Sudden
D014798	Vital Statistics	Used for general articles concerning statistics of births, deaths, marriages, etc.	Registration of Vital Statistics,Registration, Vital Statistics,Statistics, Vital,Vital Statistics Registration,Registrations, Vital Statistics,Vital Statistics Registrations