 News
14th March 2006
Baby antibiotics linked to asthma
There is increasing evidence that antibiotic use in infancy
is linked with asthma in children.
A study from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver found that
children who are treated with antibiotics before their first birthday
are twice as likely to develope asthma in later childhood.
The researchers also found that the more antibiotics that are used in
the first 12 months of life, the higher the risk of developing asthma.
Lead study author Carlo Marra said, "Antibiotic use in children has been
found to coincide with an increased incidence of childhood asthma.
"Although the causal nature between antibiotics and asthma is still unclear,
our overall results show that treatment with at least one antibiotic as
an infant appears to be associated with the development of childhood asthma."
The team studied 12,082 children and found 1,817 asthma cases were reported,
indicating that those treated with antibiotics in the first year of life
were in general twice as likely to develop asthma.
They also analysed data from five studies including 27,167 children looking
at antibiotic doses and found that for each extra course of antibiotics
during the first year of life a child was 1.16 times more likely to develop
asthma.
Co-author Fawziah Marra said "Current guidelines recommend that children
under age two receive an antibiotic for diagnosed ear infection.
"However, the majority of upper respiratory tract infections and bronchitis
are viral, for which antibiotics are ineffective."
Dr Lyn Smurthwaite, research development manager at Asthma UK, welcomed
the research into antibiotic use as a potential risk factor.
"Identifying events in early childhood that influence asthma development
is a difficult task.
"The study shows that taking antibiotics in infancy may increase a child's
risk of developing asthma and highlights that antibiotics should always
be prescribed and taken responsibly."
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