Mortalita' nei primi due anni di vita in Italia: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome e altre morti inattese

The objective of this report is to describe the mortality rates in the first two years of life during the period 1990- 2001 in Italy. The analysis is based on death certificates which are centrally collected by the ISTAT (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica, the Italian National Institute of Statistics), and on the national registries of newborns and of the resident population. Infant mortality decreased by 41% during the study period: from 81 deaths per 10,000 newborns in 1990-1992, to 48 per 10,000 in 1999-2001. Around 75% of all deaths occurring during the first year of life take place within the first month, and these deaths are mainly associated (71%) to perinatal conditions. A similar decrease in infant mortality was observed in all Italian areas, although Southern regions persist on experiencing higher rates (1.7 greater than North-Eastern regions). During the second year of life mortality has decreased by 33%, reaching 3 deaths per 10,000 infants in 1999-2001. SIDS events represent around 6% of the post-neonatal mortality. In 1999-2001 a rate of around 0.6 deaths per 10,000 newborns was observed. If all unexpected or ill defined deaths are considered the corresponding rate increases to 1.9 deaths per 10,000 newborns.