A retrospective study has been carried out and ninety SIDS deaths, occ
urred between 1984-1992, were analyzed at SIDS Center of the Universit
y of Milan. Data have been obtained from clinical charts or autopsy re
cords, or on the basis of interviews with the parents of the babies di
ed for SIDS. Sixty eight cases were classified as SIDS after necroscop
ic examination, in front of twenty two deaths without any autopsy. The
se cases, without post-mortem examination, were classified as SIDS for
their typical clinical history. The results of our study appear overl
apping the conclusions available from the international literature, pa
rticularly about male/female ratio, seasonality, age at death and hour
s of day in which SIDS occurs. Furthermore our results show a high inc
idence of SIDS in newborns with low birth weight, low gestational age
and twin parity.