Refugee stress and folk belief: Hmong sudden deaths.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco 94143-0850, USA.

Since the first reported death in 1977, scores of seemingly healthy Hmong refugees have died mysteriously and without warning from what has come to be known as Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome (SUNDS). To date medical research has provided no adequate explanation for these sudden deaths. This study is an investigation into the changing impact of traditional beliefs as they manifest during the stress of traumatic relocation. In Stockton, California, 118 Hmong men and women were interviewed regarding their awareness of and personal experience with a traditional nocturnal spirit encounter. An analysis of this data reveals that the supranormal attack acts as a trigger for Hmong SUNDS.

PMID: 7660175 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]