[Sudden infant death and sickle cell anemia in the Sahel region of Africa].

The authors investigated the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (S.I.D.S.) in families of government employees who benefited of free health care. Out of approximately 400 families with around 2000 children, 29 reported at least one infant death meeting the chosen criteria for S.I.D.S. A total of 41 children, mostly males, died between 1 day and 30 months of age, amongst the 149 children born in these families; most of them died during the first 3 months of life. The mothers were generally house wives, aged 26.2 +/- 1.0 years. Sickle cell trait was found in at least one parent of 21 families. In the other 8 families, 11 out of 38 children died, giving a prevalence rate of 6.9/1000 live births for S.I.D.S. in the healthy population. In the sickle cell trait population, the prevalence rate for S.I.D.S. reached 75.0/1000 live births, the prevalence of sickle cell anemia being about 20% in Niger. When very strict criteria were used for diagnosing S.I.D.S., the prevalence rate was 2.5/1000 and 40/1000 live births in the healthy and the sickle trait populations respectively. This study is the first attempt to determine the place of S.I.D.S. in the infant mortality rate in Sahelian Africa. In families with sickle cell disease, the risk of S.I.D.S. was 11.5 times greater than in healthy families. The role of sleep apnea as a cause of S.I.D.S. is discussed. It may represent a common cause of death in both healthy families at risk and sickle cell trait families.