Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) by Cause of Death, New Jersey, 2000-2002 to 2019-2021
Indicator Report Data View Options
Why Is This Important?
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the third leading cause of infant mortality in New Jersey and the U.S.
It can be difficult to distinguish SIDS from other sleep-related infant deaths, such as suffocation by soft bedding, even after a thorough investigation, because these deaths are often unwitnessed, and there are no tests to tell SIDS apart from suffocation or deaths classified as due to an ill-defined and unknown cause. Additionally, people who investigate such deaths may report cause of death in different ways. 1 Therefore, SIDS and the other sleep-related infant deaths, which share common risk factors, are grouped and assessed as a whole as Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID).
Definition
Death of an infant before his or her first birthday that occurs suddenly and unexpectedly, and whose cause of death cannot be determined after an autopsy, death scene investigation, and review of medical history. Underlying cause of death ICD-10 codes:
- R95 -- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS),
- R99 -- ill-defined and unknown cause,
- W75 -- accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed
Data Notes
The number of deaths due to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed is too small to calculate a reliable rate in most three-year periods. Interpret results with caution.Data Sources
- Birth Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, New Jersey Department of Health
(https://www.nj.gov/health/vital/) - Linked Infant Death-Birth Database, Center for Health Statistics, New Jersey Department of Health
(https://www.nj.gov/health/chs/)
How the Measure is Calculated
Numerator:
Number of deaths in the first year of life with Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) as the underlying cause of deathDenominator:
Total number of live births