Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the main cause of infant death in the first year of life. SIDS has been linked to psychiatric disorders in three previous studies. We therefore aimed to investigate whether there is an association between Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and psychiatric disorders.

We used a case-control study design. Cases were women registered with a general practice on a UK primary care database with a live birth between 1987 to 2000 and a subsequent SIDS. Controls were women matched for general practice with a live birth born in the same index year as the matched SIDS, with infant survival for the first year of life. Conditional logistic regression analysis examined the effect of maternal psychiatric disorders and potential confounders. Results:169 linked mother-infant cases of SIDS were matched with 662 mother-infant controls. SIDS was independently associated with a history of depression in the year before birth and male gender. There was weak evidence of an association of SIDS with depression in the 6 months after birth.

Perinatal depression is associated with SIDS; women with perinatal depression need optimal treatment and advice on preventative behaviours to reduce the risk of SIDS.