Study on Sleep Location Flawed, Inconclusive

The article by Colvin et al, “Sleep Environment Risks for Younger and Older Infants,” incorrectly concludes that bed-sharing is the top risk factor for sleep-related deaths. The authors fail to include any of the other major known risk factors for these deaths in their analysis besides sleep location and position. By far the other leading risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) are maternal smoking,1 infants sleeping unattended,1 and formula feeding.2 The risk of infant death from bed-sharing is strongly potentiated by maternal prenatal and/or postnatal smoking.3 The use of alcohol and sedating substances by parents/caregivers poses …