Antibiotic use linked to asthma

An infant’s risk for developing asthma increases slightly with each new course of antibiotics prescribed during the first year of life, data from a recently published trial indicated.

“This study provides evidence that the use of antibiotics in the first year of life is associated with a small risk for developing asthma, and that this risk increases with the number of courses of antibiotics prescribed,” the researchers wrote.

Administrative data from a birth cohort of 251,817 children gathered between 1997 and 2003 were evaluated to determine antibiotic exposure and incidence of asthma among all children.

Seven percent (n=18,864) of the 108,958 children who received at least one antibiotic during the first year of life went on to develop asthma during the study follow-up period. Data also indicated that the risk for asthma increased with the number of courses of antibiotics prescribed, with children prescribed greater than four courses at highest risk (adjusted HR for > 4 courses: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.20 to 1.41).

Using Cox proportional hazard models the researchers adjusted for a wide scope of potential confounders including gender; socioeconomic status; urban or rural address; birth weight; gestational age; delivery method; frequency of physician visits; hospital visit involving surgery; visits to an allergist, respirologist or immunologist; congenital anomalies; and presence of otitis media, acute or chronic bronchitis, and upper and lower respiratory tract infections.

Increased risk was associated with all classes of antibiotics except sulfonamides.

frome: www.pediatricsupersite.com