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Study Shows
Link Between Antibiotics And Allergies, Asthma
Children who receive antibiotics within their first six months of
birth increase their risk of developing by age 7 allergies to
pets, ragweed, grass and dust mites and asthma, according to study
conducted at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
However, they are less susceptible to
these effects if they live with at least two pets, namely dogs or
cats, in the first year.
Researchers also say breast-feeding
and a mother's history of allergies add to the risks of allergy
for a child taking antibiotics.
The study's findings are believed to
be the first of its kind in the United States that found a link
between antibiotics and allergies and asthma in children.
Christine Cole Johnson, Ph.D., the
study's lead author and senior research epidemiologist for Henry
Ford's Department of Biostatistics & Research Epidemiology, will
present the study Sept. 30 at the European Respiratory Society's
annual conference in Vienna.
"I'm not suggesting children shouldn't
receive antibiotics. But I believe we need to be more prudent in
prescribing them for children at such an early age," Dr. Johnson
says. "In the past, many of them were prescribed unnecessarily,
especially for viral infections like colds and the flu when they
would have no effect anyway."
Dr. Johnson theorizes that use of
antibiotics may affect the gastrointestinal tract and alter the
development of a child's immune system.
The increasing use of antibiotics in
children from 1977 to the early 1990s led to what federal health
officials called a public health crisis in antibiotic resistance.
A national campaign commissioned by the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention has sought to promote a more judicious
approach for prescribing antibiotics for children.
For the Henry Ford study, researchers
followed 448 children from birth to seven years. The children were
evenly divided by gender.
Data was collected prenatally and at
the first four birthdays until the children were 6 and 7 years
old, when they underwent a clinical evaluation by a board-
certified allergist. The data included information about all
prescribed oral antibiotics; blood tests that measure the antibody
(immunoglobulin E) that causes allergies; and skin reaction tests
that show whether a person is hypersensitive to an allergen.
Researchers also collected data on all clinical visits and made
home visits to collect environmental samples.
Of the 448 children, 49 percent had
received antibiotics in the first six months of life. The most
common antibiotic category prescribed was penicillin.
Among the findings:
* By age 7, children given at least
one antibiotic in the first six months were 1.5 times more likely
to develop allergies than those who did not receive antibiotics.
They were 2.5 times more likely to develop asthma.
* By age 7, children given at least
one antibiotic in the first six months and who lived with fewer
than two pets were 1.7 times more likely to develop allergies, and
three times more likely to develop asthma.
* By age 7, children given at least
one antibiotic in the first six months and whose mother had a
history of allergies were nearly twice as likely to develop
allergies.
* By age 7, children given at least
one antibiotic in the first six months and who were breast-fed for
more than four months were three times more likely to develop
allergies. However, breast-feeding did not influence the risk
between antibiotics and asthma.
Editor's Note: The original news
release can be found here.
