ARE ANTIBIOTICS LINKED TO A HIGHER RISK OF ECZEMA?

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ARE ANTIBIOTICS LINKED TO A HIGHER RISK OF
ECZEMA?
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• For some time, researchers have wondered if
  antibiotic use in babies (or even in their
  pregnant moms) might be linked to the
  development of eczema later in life.
• In the last few years, several analyses of large
  population databases and reviews of multiple
  studies across time (meta analyses) are providing
  a clearer picture of antibiotics role in the
  development of eczema.
• Does early antibiotic use increase eczema risk in
  babies?
• The answer appears to be yes for kids themselves
  but is less conclusive if their moms took
  antibiotics during pregnancy.

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• One 2020 meta analysis of 26 studies concluded
  that maternal use of antibiotics might increase
  the risk of eczema (69) and asthma (29). But a
  recent study in a major journal (JAMA) of 700,000
  Swedish children had less clear-cut results.
• It found a strong link between prenatal
  antibiotic use and risk of eczema (52), but the
  result disappeared when researchers compared the
  outcomes for siblings born when the mother did
  not take antibiotics, suggesting other
  environmental or genetic factors might contribute
  to eczema in these families.
• However, the effects of early antibiotic use in
  babies and very young children are consistent
  across many studies.
• In a 2017 meta analysis of 34 studies studying
  more than 340,000 children across 6 decades,
  researchers concluded that kids exposed to
  antibiotics in the first 2 years of life were 26
  more likely to develop eczema.

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• A 2020 Korean study matched 244,000 children with
  eczema with an equal number of healthy kids and
  found a greater risk (60) of developing eczema
  in children who received antibiotics and that
  risk increased as the number of infections and
  antibiotic exposures increased.
• A 2022 Taiwanese study looked at over 21,000
  children in a national health database. They
  found that kids who eventually developed eczema
  were 13 more likely to have had infectious
  diseases than children who never developed
  eczema. They also confirmed the results of
  previous studies that there was a significant
  increased risk of developing eczema after
  infection and systemic exposure to antibiotics.
• There are a number of reasons for being cautious
  about overuse of antibiotics, including
  encouraging antibiotic resistant bacteria that
  endanger us all.
• But if your family is prone to atopic diseases
  you might talk to your doctor about antibiotic
  use and your babys risk for eczema.

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• THANK YOU

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