SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME AND PLASTIC BEDDING MATERIALS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF AUTOPSY EVIDENCE LINKING VOC OFF-GASSING, CARBON DIOXIDE REBREATHING, AND THERMAL STRESS TO PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS

Daria Nazarova; Yuliia Barbashova

doi:10.30890/2567-5273.2025-42-02-080

Authors

Daria Nazarova Akaki Tsereteli State University, Tamar Mepe 59, Kutaisi, Georgia. 4600. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4927-171X
Yuliia Barbashova Akaki Tsereteli State University, Tamar Mepe 59, Kutaisi, Georgia. 4600. https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0753-0222

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30890/2567-5273.2025-42-02-080

Keywords:

SIDS, autopsy findings, volatile organic compounds, VOC off-gassing, CO₂ re-breathing, hyperthermia, heat stress, neonatal anatomy, plastic mattress, breathable bedding, evidence-based prevention, triple-risk model.

Abstract

This comprehensive study investigates the mechanistic relationship between plastic bedding materials and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) through systematic analysis of autopsy evidence spanning 55 years. The investigation reveals that three autopsy fi

References

Naeye, R.L. (1976). Pathologic studies in sudden infant death. Pediatrics, 57, pp. 14-22.

Krous, H.F., Beckwith, J.B., Byard, R.W., Rognum, T.O., Bajanowski, T., Corey, T.S., et al. (2008). Sudden infant death and histopathology: An international perspective. Pediatrics, 122, pp. 841-847.

Warnock, M., Fraser, J., Craighead, P. and Smith, L.A. (1995). Toxic gas generation from plastic mattresses and sudden infant death syndrome. Human & Experimental Toxicology, 14, pp. 706-715.

Craig, P. and Southall, D.P. (2002). Mechanical model testing of re-breathing potential in infant bedding systems. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 38, pp. 505-510.

Hippe, D., Vennemann, M. and Mitchell, E.A. (2013). Hyperthermia and sudden infant death syndrome: A systematic review. Pediatric Pulmonology, 48, pp. 1138-1145.

Boor, B.E., Järnström, H., Novoselac, A. and Xu, Y. (2014). Infant exposure to emissions of volatile organic compounds from crib mattresses. Environmental Science & Technology, 48, pp. 3541-3549.

Ayers, S., Creaser, C.S., Stockwell, P.B. and Cairns, E. (1997). Fungal volatilisation of antimony and the sudden infant death syndrome hypothesis. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 158, pp. 261-265.

Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT). (2024). Cause di morte – Mortalità infantile 1970-2024. Rome: ISTAT.

Sørensen, H.B. and Andersen, S.K. (1998). National ban on polyurethane crib pads and subsequent decline in sudden infant death syndrome. Ugeskrift for Læger, 160, pp. 2634-2637.

Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. (2024). Causes of death – Infants 2023. Ljubljana: SORS.

Moon, R.Y. and Hauck, F.R. (2016). Trends in sudden infant death syndrome: 2000-2015. Pediatrics, 138, e20162857.

Sprott, T.J. (2004). Cot death – Cause and prevention: Experiences in New Zealand 1995-2004. Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine, 14, pp. 221-232.

Filiano, J.J. and Kinney, H.C. (1994). A perspective on neuropathologic findings in victims of the sudden infant death syndrome: The triple-risk model. Biology of the Neonate, 65, pp. 194-197.

Kinney, H.C., Richerson, G.B., Dymecki, S.M., Darnall, R.A. and Nattie, E.E. (2009). The brainstem and serotonin in the sudden infant death syndrome. Annual Review of Pathology, 4, pp. 517-550.

Schwartz, P.J., Stramba-Badiale, M., Crotti, L., Pedrazzini, M., Besana, A., Hullin, R., et al. (2018). Genetic cardiac channelopathies and sudden infant death syndrome. Heart Rhythm, 15, pp. 782-787.

Weese-Mayer, D.E., Rand, C.M., Ackerman, M.J., Bakewell, S.C., Detwiler, D.A., Kinney, H.C., et al. (2017). Autonomic dysregulation and sudden infant death syndrome. Pediatrics, 140, e20163703.

Poets, C.F., Schoeber, M., Wallis, S. and Kemp, J.S. (1999). Negative intrathoracic pressure and petechiae in an experimental asphyxia model. Pediatric Research, 46, pp. 81-85.

Brooks, J.H. and Burchfield, D.J. (1995). Hyperthermia increases pulmonary blood flow in neonatal swine. Pediatric Pulmonology, 19, pp. 78-84.

Hale, J.R., Aldridge, W.N. and Green, T. (1997). Neurotoxicity of stibine in neonatal rats. Toxicology Letters, 92, pp. 29-35.

Bettelheim, K.A. and Goldwater, P.N. (2004). Staphylococcus aureus α-toxin in sudden infant death syndrome. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 53, pp. 715-718.

Selvaggio, G.N. and Biondi, G. (2023). Cardiac conduction-system abnormalities in sudden unexpected infant death: A systematic review. Diagnostics, 13, p. 270.

Prandota, J. (2014). Hippocampal dentate gyrus maldevelopment in sudden infant death syndrome. Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology, 73, pp. 725-739.

Knight, H.J., Brown, L., Smith, D.L. and Richardson, B.A. (1993). Sudden infant death syndrome and the toxic-gas hypothesis. Letters in Applied Microbiology, 17, pp. 94-97.

Golding, J., Scott, A.M. and Lakhani, P. (1995). Concentrations of antimony in infants dying from sudden infant death syndrome and in other infants. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 73, pp. 284-287.

Simone, P., Williams, M.B. and Lubis, J. (2020). Identification of phthalate plasticisers and flame-retardants in crib-mattress components. Analytical Chemistry, 92, pp. 3006-3013.