Air pollution link to cot deaths

Air pollution may be to blame for up to a sixth of cot deaths, it emerged today.

Scientists have uncovered powerful new evidence that poor air quality is responsible for unexplained infant deaths.

They believe fumes from traffic and power stations could cause as many as one in six cot deaths, and be responsible for almost a quarter of the total mortality rate among babies under the age of one.

The ground-breaking study claims even low measures of pollution can cause tragedy.

Today experts called for a radical reduction in the level of emissions considered "acceptable" - warning that failure to tackle pollution could have devastating implications for infant health. Cot death - also known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, is the leading cause of death among babies under the age of one in Britain, affecting about 200 infants a year.

Most cases remain a mystery, although the baby's sleeping position, temperature and exposure to cigarette smoke are the most widely discussed risk factors.

Now it appears experts may have overlooked one of the key dangers, after researchers discovered that more cot deaths occur in areas with poor air quality.

The findings are based on medical records of more than 700,000 babies from 25 areas.

The locations were selected to reflect the widest possible range of air quality.

Researchers found that on average, 115 of every 100,000 babies died before reaching the age of one. The international research team focused on infants known to

have died from respiratory illnesses or suffered cot death.

They obtained government data on the level of soot, dirt and dust in the atmosphere in each area. They calculated that 16 per cent of the cot deaths were caused by pollution.

The research, published in the journal Environmental Health, was carried out in America, where air pollution regulations are far stricter than here.

The findings will worry parents of newborns living in big cities, particularly London.

Although the research was carried out in the United States, cot death charities in the UK today said it was "highly unlikely" that the problem was unique to America.

Consultant paediatrician Professor George Haycock, scientific adviser to charity Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, said the research suggested air pollution was a "real risk factor" in cot deaths.

He added: "The obvious practical message coming out of this work is that pollution target levels should be lowered further if post neo-natal death is to be reduced beyond existing prevalence levels."