Using antibiotics in the first year of life is linked to a small increased risk of asthma

Antibiotic use in the first year of life is linked to a small increase in the risk of asthma and this risk rises with each course of antibiotics used.

The study was published in the journal Pediatrics. Researchers looked at the possible link between antibiotic use before the age of one year and the development of childhood asthma. They used administrative data on children born between 1997 and 2003.

The investigators assessed antibiotic exposure during the first year of life in 251 817 infants, as well as the incidence of asthma after the first 24 months of life in both those exposed and not exposed to antibiotics in the first 12 months of life.

They found that antibiotic exposure in the first year of life was associated with a small risk for the development of asthma in early childhood. The number of courses of antibiotics was associated with increased asthma risk, and this risk was highest in children treated with more than four courses of antibiotics. Except for sulfonamides, all antibiotics were associated with an increased risk for the development of asthma.