Mixed
Antibiotic exposure during early development (prenatal, perinatal, or early childhood) disrupts microbiome succession, leading to long-term health consequences including increased susceptibility to infection, immunological disorders (asthma, type 1 diabetes), and metabolic shifts toward obesity or malnutrition.
Avoid antibiotics for viral infections or minor issues, especially in children. If antibiotics are necessary, discuss probiotic or dietary strategies to support microbiome recovery with your doctor, as early-life antibiotic use is linked to long-term health risks like asthma and obesity.
Postnatal antibiotics can also irreversibly disrupt the natural microbiome succession... Caesarean sections are also associated with a variety of long-term health problems, especially immunological disorders such as asthma [35] and type 1 diabetes [36, 37]. Antibiotic exposure during infancy has been found to increase the risk of overweight in preadolescence for boys [47]... severe calorie restriction... has devastating long-term consequences... Undernutrition has a distinct microbial signature consistent with a delay in developmental progression of the microbiome.
Why this rating
The paper is a comprehensive review citing numerous observational and animal studies, though it notes that causal mechanisms are still being characterized.
Source
The effects of antibiotics on the microbiome throughout development and alternative approaches for therapeutic modulation
Amy Langdon et al. · Genome Medicine · 2016
DOI 10.1186/s13073-016-0294-z
More from this paper
- Broad-spectrum antibiotic use in developed countries contributes to reduced microbiome diversity compared to hunter-gatherer societies, which is associated with increased susceptibility to infection and metabolic disorders.Good
- Antibiotic treatment for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) can improve nutritional recovery and reduce mortality, likely by altering the microbiome to improve nutrient extraction, although the mechanism is not fully understood.Moderate
Related findings · Mixed
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