This is not the first study to denounce this deleterious effect of antibiotics in young children, an increased risk of weight gain, overweight and obesity. However, this study from the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute (Boston) estimates the effect to be “mild”. This small association between early exposure to antibiotics and weight gain in young children is documented here in the journal Pediatrics.
The study carried out within a national network, the national patient-centered clinical research network (PCORnet: an innovative research network that facilitates research in health establishments), thus confirms that the use of antibiotics in children aged less than 24 months is associated with a body weight slightly above 5 years.
Overuse of antibiotics is a major public health concern, primarily due to the dangers of increased antibiotic resistance, it is only more recently that interest in the effect of antibiotics on body weight has emerged. . A logical concern when antibiotics disrupt the natural balance of gut bacteria or the gut microbiome. As the microbiome has important effects on metabolism and how food is digested, the researchers here again hypothesize that these disturbances in the gut microbiota could lead to disturbances in weight. This question is important for parents and doctors, who must decide, in an informed manner,
Previous studies have provided mixed results regarding the potential effect of antibiotics on weight , with some concern nonetheless. This study is the largest on the subject because it covers a sample of more than 360,000 children followed in 35 institutions across the United States. Researchers are examining the relationship between antibiotic use in children under 2 and their weight around age 5, taking into account possible confounding factors including pre-existing chronic disease, number of prescriptions and the specific types of antibiotics given. The analysis confirms that:
- the effect of early exposure to antibiotics in young children does indeed exist;
- however, the association between the use of antibiotics in early childhood and weight at age 5 years remains weak and estimated, on average, at around 450 g in children of average height and weight receiving 4 antibiotic treatments or more, vs none.
A small difference in weight which may nevertheless encourage more efforts to reduce the use of antibiotics in young children.
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