Researchers from Rutgers University report in the study that antibiotic use in young children destroys good bacteria in the digestive tract and can cause lifelong allergies and asthma problems. In collaboration with researchers from New York University and the University of Zurich, the study was published in the journal Mucosal Immunology on July 16. The researchers gave young mice water and antibiotics for nine days in the first phase of the research, then treated them with a common allergen created by dust when they reached adulthood. Mice given any of the antibiotics, particularly a commonly prescribed one called azithromycin, showed increased immune reactions or allergies. According to the researchers, this finding offers the first convincing evidence of a link between the use of antibiotics during childhood and the later development of asthma and allergies. “The practical implication is simple: Avoid using antibiotics in young children whenever you can, because it can increase the risk of significant, long-term allergy and/or asthma problems,” study leader Martin Blaser said in a statement. The researchers then tested whether the antibiotics affected young and old mice in a similar way. According to their findings, the immune responses of the aged mice to common allergens were similar to those of unexposed mice, “just as people who receive antibiotics in adulthood are no more likely to develop asthma or allergies than those who do not.” exposed”. However, the study also shows that parents can pass the problem on to their offspring. Mice exposed to antibiotic-treated samples reacted to the dust mites more strongly than mice whose parents received samples that had not been affected by the antibiotics. This result is consistent with how infant mice that received antibiotics tended to respond to the allergen more strongly than those that received water. “These experiments provide strong evidence that antibiotics cause the development of unwanted immune responses through their effect on gut bacteria, but only if the gut bacteria are altered in early childhood,” Blaser said.
