Medical researchers develop a fresh theory about what makes infants most at risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

REDMOND, Wash., March 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Research conducted as part of a unique partnership between the Center for Integrative Brain Research at Seattle Children's and data scientists at Microsoft sheds new light on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The research will be discussed today at the Eighth Annual SIDS Summit, which brings some of the leading minds on SIDS worldwide to the Seattle region.

Among the findings to be discussed is a paper published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics that shows gene variations related to heart, lung, and brain function make infants more vulnerable to Sudden Unexplained Infant Deaths (SUID), which includes SIDS. Similar genetic profiles can be found in adults who died from Sudden Cardiac Death, which causes 360,000 deaths annually in the United States. Another finding, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests infants born to mothers with obesity are at increased risk of SUID.

"Our research indicates that genetic variants play significant and diverse roles in deaths from SIDS," said Jan-Marino Ramirez, PhD, Director of the Center for Integrative Brain Research at Seattle Children's, who was among the co-authors of both papers. "In many cases, multiple genetic variants that impact brain, heart, and lung function occurred simultaneously, making these children particularly vulnerable to die even if other risk factors are absent. Often, however, these genetic vulnerabilities appear alongside other risk factors such as maternal smoking, prone sleeping, obesity, or even mild infections."

Ramirez predicts that genetic testing will become an important tool not only to finally explain SIDS but also to prevent it and other forms of sudden deaths later in life. "The impact can be huge, given that more than 1,000 people die daily, suddenly, and unexpectedly," he added. 

At the SIDS conference, Ramirez and others will also discuss brand new research, not yet published, suggesting genetic testing can indeed predict children at highest risk of dying of SIDS based on polygenic scoring, which allows the prediction of a child's risk based on the effects on many genetic variants found. This represents roughly ten percent of SIDS cases in the United States

SIDS is the leading cause of death for infants one month to one year old in all developed countries. Yet, since recorded history began, medical science has struggled to understand what causes it. In the early 1990s, Dr. Ed Mitchell from the University of Auckland, New Zealand was among the first to observe a correlation between the sleeping position of infants and SIDS risk. Parents were subsequently told to place babies on their backs to sleep. SIDS rates dropped by 50% over the years, but the syndrome did not vanish and continues to frighten new parents. 

According to Ramirez, genetic vulnerabilities could explain why that risk still exists for certain infants, despite the adherence to safe sleep practices and the reduction in the incidence of smoking. Ramirez and his partners at Microsoft, whose research benefits from the first-ever database of whole genome sequencing of 340 infants who succumbed to SIDS, believe the accumulation of causes may be the best explanation yet as to what causes the syndrome.

The Aaron Matthew SIDS Foundation funds the SIDS database and genetic samples from Aaron Kahan, the namesake of the foundation, were among those contributed. It was identified that Aaron had three mutations associated with heart and lung disease, which contributed to his death in 2003.

"We had no idea where this work would lead when we began using data science and AI to help understand SIDS," said John Kahan, who co-founded The Aaron Matthew SIDS Research Foundation with his wife, Heather Kahan. "The database we've built, which allows data scientists to use AI to analyze SIDS data in ways that weren't possible just a few short years ago, has finally given our family answers about what caused our son to die from SIDS. We now understand that Aaron had multiple genetic issues related to his heart and breathing functions. But what's most important is that we're a few steps closer to preventative measures, so that fewer parents have to suffer through the loss of a child like we did."

"What we've learned is that AI can meaningfully support the heroic work medical researchers do every day," said Juan M. Lavista Ferres, PhD, CVP and Chief Data Scientist for the AI for Good Lab at Microsoft. "While we're still far from fully understanding or preventing SIDS, I'm encouraged by the progress we've made through close collaboration."

About the Aaron Matthew SIDS Research Guild at Seattle Children's Hospital
The Aaron Matthew SIDS Research Guild at Seattle Children's Hospital was named in honor of Aaron Matthew Kahan, son of Heather Kahan and John B. Kahan.

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE Aaron Matthew SIDS Research Guild