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To assess the association between infant sleeping position and risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in an ethnically diverse US population, the authors conducted a population-based case-control study in 11 counties in California from May 1997 through April 2000. The authors conducted in-person interviews with the mothers of 185 SIDS cases and 312 randomly selected race/ethnicity- and age-matched controls to collect information on sleeping positions. Infants who had last been put down to sleep in the prone or side position were at greater risk of SIDS than were infants who had last been put down on their backs (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.6 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.5, 4.5) and AOR = 2.0 (95% CI: 1.2, 3.4) for the prone and side positions, respectively). The risk of SIDS was especially high for an unstable side position in which an infant was placed on its side and found prone (AOR = 8.7, 95% CI: 3.3, 22.7). Infants who were usually placed on their backs to sleep but had last been put down in the prone or side position (an unaccustomed position) had a significantly high risk of SIDS (AOR = 8.2 (95% CI: 2.6, 26.0) and AOR = 6.9 (95% CI: 2.3, 20.6) for the prone and side positions, respectively). Infants placed in an unaccustomed prone or side sleeping position had a higher risk of SIDS than infants who were always placed prone or on the side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and dementia and cognitive impairment show mixed results. This study assessed the prevalence of dementia and cognitive impairment in users and nonusers of HRT defined using computer-stored prescription information.Methods: The study involved 3924 women 75 years of age and older who were members of the Southern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in 1998. HRT use was determined based on prescription data for 1992-1998. Cognitive function and dementia were assessed using the Telephone Interview of Cognitive Status supplemented by the Telephone Dementia Questionnaire and medical record review.Results: Odds ratios (ORs) for cognitive impairment/dementia showed expected associations with age, education, ethnicity, and a history of stroke or Parkinson's disease. After adjustment, the OR for cognitive impairment or dementia in HRT users compared with HRT nonusers was 0.91 (95% confidence interval 0.75-1.10). The adjusted ORs for all dementia and dementia without cause in HRT users compared with nonusers were 0.77 (95% confidence interval 0.59- 1.00) and 0.78 (0.58-1.05), respectively. Twenty percent of women with cognitive impairment or dementia who had been classified as HRT users by prescription (one prescription each year from 1992-1998) denied hormone use compared with 8.8% of women without impairment. Medical record review validated prescription information for the impaired women.Conclusions: The study identified an important methodologic problem in studies of HRT and cognitive impairment and dementia that depend on recalled information about drug exposure. A protective effect of HRT for cognitive impairment and dementia was neither established nor ruled out based on the prescription data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]