Study finds link between risk of SIDS, altitude

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The results of a new study shed some light on which infants may be vulnerable to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS.

Researchers analyzed nearly 400,000 birth and death records from recent years in Colorado and found that babies living above 8,000 feet had a slightly higher risk of SIDS than babies below 6,000 feet.

It's unclear what makes babies vulnerable at higher elevations, but researchers said could be related to the oxygen level which is lower in higher elevations.

But researchers also found that putting babies to sleep on their backs had positive effects on their risk of SIDS across all altitudes.