Changes in the Classification of Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths: United States, 1992–2001

Abstract

The failure of the overall postneonatal mortality rate to decline in the face of a declining SIDS rate in 1999-2001 raises the question of whether the falling SIDS rate is a result of changes in certifier practices such that deaths that in previous years might have been certified as SIDS are now certified to other non-SIDS causes. The observation that the increase in the rates of non-SIDS causes of sudden unexpected infant death could account for >90% of the drop in the SIDS rates suggests that a change in classification may be occurring.