ABSTRACT
The 1992 ‘‘Back to Sleep’’ campaign identified modifiable environmental risk
factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and led to a decrease in SIDS
incidence from 1.2 per 1000 live births (1) to 0.529 per 1000 live births in 2003 (2).
Despite this decline, African-American infants have a 2.7-fold higher SIDS rate
than Caucasian infants (2). This ethnic disparity, coupled with SIDS deaths despite
improved compliance with modifiable risk factors, led investigators to consider a
genetic basis for SIDS. Thus far, all genetic studies have been based on clinical,
neuropathological, and epidemiological observations in SIDS victims, with subse-
quent identification and study of candidate genes. This chapter focuses exclusively
on those genes that are pertinent to cardiorespiratory or autonomic regulation.
