SIDS: Fathers & pre-conception pot smoking (this should muddy the waters)

[Guest guest]

Paternal Marijuana Use Linked to SIDS WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) Jul 23 -

Paternal marijuana use during the time of conception and the pre- and

postnatal periods is significantly associated with SIDS.

Maternal recreational drug use, however, does not seem to be tied to SIDS,

according to a report published in the July issue of the Archives of

Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Dr. Hillary Klonoff-Cohen and Phung

Lam-Kruglick, from the University of California at San Diego, interviewed the

parents of 239 SIDS infants and 239 matched healthy infants to determine the

relationship between parental drug use and SIDS.

After controlling for smoking, maternal recreational drug use during

pregnancy had no bearing on the SIDS risk, the authors report. After

adjusting for paternal smoking and alcohol use, fathers of SIDS infants were

significantly more likely than fathers of control infants to have used

marijuana during conception (p = 0.01), during pregnancy (p = 0.05), or

postnatally (p = 0.04).

" In this study, the number of mothers who reported using drugs during

conception or pregnancy was small, and therefore, we had little power to

detect statistically significant associations, " the researchers point out.

However, " whether or not a true relationship exists, direct and oblique

references linking SIDS to maternal substance use appear in both scientific

and lay literature, " they add. " The role of paternal psychoactive drug use,

especially the relationship between marijuana and SIDS, is an understudied

area, " the investigators note.

" However, before any definitive role for the father can be confirmed, these

findings should be investigated and replicated in future studies, " they

emphasize. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2001;155:765-770.