Editing SIDS (section)

===Race===

[[File:US SIDS rates race 2009.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Rates of SIDS by race/ethnicity in the U.S., 2009, CDC, 2013]]

In 2013, there were persistent disparities in SIDS deaths among racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. In 2009, the rates of death ranged from 20.3 per 100,000 live births for Asians and Pacific Islanders to 119.2 per 100,000 live births for Native Americans and Alaska Natives. African American infants have a 24% greater risk (100.7 per 100,000 live births) of having a SIDS-related death, compared to the U.S. population as a whole,<ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Powers DA, Song S |title=Absolute change in cause-specific infant mortality for blacks and whites in the US: 1983–2002|journal=Tion Research and Policy Review|date=2009|volume=28|issue=6|pages=817–851|doi=10.1007/s11113-009-9130-0|s2cid=72279012}}</ref> and experience a 2.5{{Vague|reason=It is unclear if the given quantity represents a fold increase or a percent increase|date=October 2024}} greater incidence of SIDS than white infants.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Pollack HA, Frohna JG | title = A competing risk model of sudden infant death syndrome incidence in two US birth cohorts | journal = The Journal of Pediatrics | volume = 138 | issue = 5 | pages = 661–667 | date = May 2001 | pmid = 11343040 | doi = 10.1067/mpd.2001.112248 }}</ref> Rates are calculated per 100,000 live births to enable more accurate comparison across groups of different total population sizes.

Research suggests that factors that contribute more directly to SIDS risk—maternal age, exposure to smoking, safe sleep practices, etc.—vary by racial and ethnic group, and therefore risk exposure also varies by these groups.<ref name=Kin2009/> Risk factors associated with prone sleeping patterns of African American families include the mother's age, household poverty index, rural/urban status of residence, and infant's age. More than 50% of African American infants were placed in non-recommended sleeping positions, according to a 2012  study completed in South Carolina,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Smith MG, Liu JH, Helms KH, Wilkerson KL | title = Racial differences in trends and predictors of infant sleep positioning in South Carolina, 1996-2007 | journal = Maternal and Child Health Journal | volume = 16 | issue = 1 | pages = 72–82 | date = January 2012 | pmid = 21165764 | doi = 10.1007/s10995-010-0718-0 | s2cid = 2668964 }}</ref> indicating that cultural factors can be protective as well as problematic.<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Brathwaite-Fisher T, Bronheim A |title=Cultural Competence and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Other Infant Death: A Review of the Literature from 1990–2000|publisher=National Center for Cultural Competence, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development |year=2001 |url=http://gucchd.georgetown.edu/products/SIDS_LiteratureReview.doc |format=DOC|access-date=2013-09-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612094521/http://gucchd.georgetown.edu/products/SIDS_LiteratureReview.doc |archive-date=2010-06-12 |df=ymd-all}}</ref>

The rate of SIDS per 1000 births varies among ethnic groups in the United States:<ref name=Moon2007/><ref>{{cite web| vauthors = Burnett LB |title=Sudden Infant Death Syndrome|url=http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/804412-overview#a6|website=Medscape|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801153511/http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/804412-overview#a6|archive-date=2016-08-01|date=20 October 2019}}</ref>
*Central Americans and South Americans: 0.20
*Asian/Pacific Islanders: 0.28
*Mexicans: 0.24
*Puerto Ricans: 0.53
*Whites: 0.51
*African Americans: 1.08
*Native American: 1.24