Amy and Jen take a dive into a recent research paper suggesting there may be a newly identified biomarker for infants at high risk of SIDS. We look at the recent paper in detail, review the statistics and the methodology and consider what we are able to say and what we are not, as well as possible harms that might come from misinterpretation of the results.
We also discuss the article in the context of the current theoretical approaches to SIDS research and general safe sleep advice which importantly still needs to be followed.
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Thanks for listening, Amy and Jen
References and Resources for further reading:
Harrington, Hafid & Waters 2022 - the full text article:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ebiom/article/PIIS2352-3964(22)00222-5/fulltext
Media coverage:
1. https://www.biospace.com/article/researchers-answer-how-and-why-infants-die-from-sids/?utm_content=207502735&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-10530620221
2. https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/13/23071364/sids-research-hype-science-studies
for context - there is so much about SIDS deaths we still do not understand:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2119221
Critical analysis of the media hype:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/05/sudden-infant-death-syndrome-cause-study/629886/
Lullaby trust statement about this article:
https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/our-response-to-new-australian-sids-biomarker-study/
