Antibiotic / Asthma Link Identified In Children

A Canadian study of twelve thousand children suggests that there is a link between those treated with antibiotics under the age of one and those likely to develop asthma in childhood. The likelihood is double.

The US journal Chest found that courses of antibiotics administered after the first year of a child’s life increased the risk of developing asthma even further. It is believed that antibiotics can affect the immune system, killing off beneficial bacteria in the intestine and influencing the way the body copes with disease.

The research team in Canada studied over twelve thousand children and found 1,817 cases of reported asthma. Their research comprised of seven studies, comparing exposure to one or more antibiotics to no antibiotic exposure during the first year of a child’s life.

Data from a  further five studies including a total of over 27,000 children found that every extra course of antibiotics given during the first year of a childs life meant that they were 1.16 times more likely to develop asthma.

Michael Alberts, president of the American College of Chest Physicians, said that asthma affected millions of American school children and was one of the most common chronic childhood diseases. He added: "By identifying potential risk factors for asthma and educating patients and families about risk factors, we may begin to see a reduction in the overall incidence of asthma."

Co-author Fawziah Marra said that, not every childhood infection needed a course of antibiotics to treat it effectively. He 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."