Univariate Analysis of Short-Chain Fatty Acids Related to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Abstract

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is defined as the death of a child under one year of age, during sleep, without apparent cause, after exhaustive investigation, so it is a diagnosis of exclusion. SIDS is the principal cause of death in industrialized countries. Inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) have been related to SIDS. These errors are a group of conditions characterized by the accumulation of toxic substances usually produced by an enzyme defect and there are thousands of them and included are the disorders of the β-oxidation cycle, similarly to what can affect the metabolism of different types of fatty acid chain (within these, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs)). In this work, an analysis of postmortem SCFAs profiles of children who died due to SIDS is proposed. Initially, a set of features containing SCFAs information, obtained from the NIH Common Fund’s National Metabolomics Data Repository (NMDR) is submitted to an univariate analysis, developing a model based on the relationship between each feature and the binary output (death due to SIDS or not), obtaining 11 univariate models. Then, each model is validated, calculating their receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) and area under the ROC curve (AUC) value. For those features whose models presented an AUC value higher than 0.650, a new multivariate model is constructed, in order to validate its behavior in comparison to the univariate models. In addition, a comparison between this multivariate model and a model developed based on the whole set of features is finally performed. From the results, it can be observed that each SCFA which comprises of the SFCAs profile, has a relationship with SIDS and could help in risk identification.

Automatic Evaluation of Heart Condition According to the Sounds Emitted and Implementing Six Classification Methods

“…Based on literature [ 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 ] in the biomedical area, a comparison was made between the different models implemented according to evaluation metrics described in this area of knowledge, taking into consideration that the values of these metrics are considered better as closer they are to unit.…”

Indeterminacy of the Diagnosis of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Leading to Problems with the Validity of Data

“…There is no definitive diagnosis of SIDS, and the underlying cause is not clear [ 8 , 47 ]. SIDS is a diagnosis of exclusion—as such, it is an unexpected death in terms of a previous disease, not explained by a detailed and thorough autopsy or the results of laboratory tests and accompanied by knowledge of all the circumstances from the site of death [ 48 ]. In practice, misdiagnosis may occur in cases that were actually intentional acts of violence [ 20 , 21 , 46 , 49 ], as it might be very difficult to distinguish the diagnosis of SIDS from that of asphyxiation (from violent or natural causes) [ 50 ].…”

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Beyond Risk Factors

“…A recent study conducted a postmortem analysis of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) values in babies who experienced SIDS or death for causes not related to SIDS. It's described that a SFCAs quantitative profile, involving isobutyric, butyric, hexanoic, valeric, and acetic acids, allows identification of the risk of SIDS [90].…”