ANTIBIOTICS: before the age of 2, associated with health problems

Diseases and their incidence vary according to the type of antibiotic

The researchers analyzed the study data Rochester Epidemiology Project, a population-based general research collaboration in Minnesota and Wisconsin, totaling data from over 14,500 children.

• About 70% of the children had received at least one antibiotic treatment for a disease before the age of 2;
• children who receive multiple antibiotic treatments are more likely to suffer from more of one disease or condition later in childhood.
• the diseases and their incidence vary with the age of the child but also the type of antibiotic, the dose and the number of doses;
• differences are noted between girls and boys;
• diseases associated with early antibiotic use include asthma, allergic rhinitis, weight and obesity problems, food allergies, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), celiac and atopic dermatitis disease.

Long-term health consequences? This is the hypothesis put forward by the authors who assume that while antibiotics can only temporarily affect the microbiome, they can lead to long-term health consequences.

This isn’t my first study to reveal this association, recalls lead author Dr. Nathan LeBrasseur, a researcher at the Center on Aging at the Mayo Clinic. “We need to do more research to identify more reliable therapeutic approaches in terms of timing, dosage and types of antibiotics for young children.”

As studies converge on this association, it is time to be able to provide doctors with practical and reliable guidelines on the safest way to use (or not) antibiotics early in life.