A report from The News-Herald notes that Wayne County in Michigan has a notably higher rate of sleep-related infant deaths than other areas in the state.

Between 2010 and 2012, there were 121 sleep-related deaths in Wayne County, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of this number, 81 occurred in Detroit.

Dr. Gary Trock, pediatric medical director at Beaumont Hospital’s sleep lab in Royal Oak, said the rate of sleep-related infant deaths is much higher in Wayne County and in Detroit in particular than it is across most other areas of Southeast Michigan.

Of the 2010-12 numbers, Detroit has a rate of 2.6 infant sleep-related deaths per 1,000 live births. Wayne County has a rate of 1.7 overall and a rate of 1 in the county outside of Detroit. The overall rate in Michigan is 1.2.

About 72 percent of the deaths involved an infant sleeping on the same surface as another person at time of death, 90 percent involved an unsafe sleep locations, and two-thirds of infants were found in a position other than on their backs, according to the CDC.

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