Childhood Antibiotic Use Could Lead to Increased Risks of Asthma, Allergies, Other Conditions: Study

Researchers warn that multiple rounds of antibiotics before the age of 2 may increase the risks of chronic respiratory issues and food sensitivities.

Amid continuing concerns about the widespread overuse of antibiotics, which is known to increase the risk of dangerous antibiotic resistant infections, new research suggests that early exposure to the drugs may also disrupt a child’s microbiome enough to cause a number of different types of chronic conditions.

According to findings published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases on April 16, children exposed to antibiotics before the age of 2 years old had a higher likelihood they would develop asthma, hay fever and food allergies.

Antibiotics are often used during early childhood to treat conditions such as ear infections and pneumonia. Some infants can experience chronic ear infections until their inner ear tube grows, preventing recurrent infections. This makes them more likely to be exposed to multiple rounds of antibiotics before the age of 2.

Researchers from the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science at Rutgers Institute for Health studied nearly 1.1 million children using data from electronic health records from the United Kingdom from 1987 to 2020.

Children involved in the study were exposed to antibiotics from birth to age 2 years old. The research team, led by Dr. Daniel Horton, analyzed diagnoses of chronic pediatric conditions through the age of 12.

The data indicates antibiotic use before the age of 2 was linked with an increased risk of asthma, food allergies, intellectual disability and hay fever. The researchers noted strong links were observed for those conditions if the participants had multiple antibiotic courses during their early childhood.

However, the risk of developing autoimmune conditions and psychiatric conditions were low. The same findings were noted for siblings who had different experiences with antibiotics.

The research team concluded that early childhood exposure to antibiotics was dose-dependent with intellectual disability but not celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders and anxiety.

Antibiotics May Disrupt Children’s Gut Microbiome

Researchers warn that chronic exposure to antibiotics may disrupt the gut microbiome at a crucial time during a child’s development. Prior research has already highlighted the risks of antibiotic use and overuse in young children as well as unborn fetuses.

A study published in 2012 by Danish researchers indicated exposure to antibiotics during pregnancy increased the risk of asthma during childhood. The link was especially true for infants exposed to antibiotics during the third trimester of pregnancy.

Data from a 2015 study, conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers, concluded multiple courses of antibiotics during childhood may increase a child’s risk of gaining weight and becoming obese later in life.

In addition, antibiotic overuse during infancy may increase the likelihood vaccinations will not be effective. Infants who received antibiotics before the age of 2 had fewer vaccine antibodies for diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP) and pneumococcal conjugate (PCV) vaccines.

Hospital data indicates children are more likely to receive antibiotics for pneumonia when they are treated in emergency rooms, where they are often given antibiotics even without confirmed diagnoses.

Children are also often given double rounds of antibiotics when they are first seen in the ER and later when they are discharged from the hospital, indicating children are receiving far more courses of antibiotics than necessary.