Antibiotic use during infancy may increase childhood obesity risk
Antibiotics use during infancy increases risk of childhood obesity
China: Antibiotic exposure during the second trimester and infancy could increase the risk of childhood overweight or obesity, a recent meta-analysis published in the Journal Obesity has found.
The study has important implications for a country like India, where the overuse of antibiotics is common
The use of antibiotics during pregnancy does not appear to affect children's weight in subsequent years, but use during infancy may increase their risk of becoming overweight or obese, implied the research
A group of authors from Luzhou Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, China, did a systematic review and meta-analysis regarding the impact of exposure to antibiotics during infancy and pregnancy on childhood obesity.
For the purpose of the study PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched from the inception date to April 18, 2019, to identify observational studies that investigated the association between antibiotic exposure during pregnancy and infancy and childhood overweight or obesity. Investigators examined all relevant published studies that compared the use of antibiotics during pregnancy or infancy and children's later weight—which included 23 observational studies involving 1,253,035 participants. They did not find a link between prenatal antibiotic use and childhood overweight or obesity.
The meta‐analysis showed that prenatal exposure to antibiotics was not significantly associated with childhood overweight or obesity, whereas an increased risk of overweight or obesity was seen in subgroup analysis of the second trimester . In contrast, antibiotic exposure during infancy could increase the risk of childhood overweight or obesity.
Authors recommended watching out for antibiotics during pregnancy as well as infancy
"Antibiotics should be used more cautiously for children than pregnant women," Senior author Yong Xu, MD, Ph.D., stated.
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