Periodic breathing in siblings of sudden infant death syndrome victims.

To determine the incidence of periodic breathing (PB) episodes during sleep, 48 subsequent sudden infant death syndrome siblings and 48 control infants, matched by sex, gestational age, and chronologic age, were studied by home pneumogram technique. The sudden infant death syndrome siblings had a statistically significant increase in the percent of sleep time spent in PB, in the number of episodes/100 minutes of PB, in the longest episode PB, and in the average duration of all episodes of PB. We conclude that PB is present in a higher amount in sudden infant death syndrome siblings as compared to control infants.