Early Antibiotic Use Not Tied to Childhood Asthma And Allergies
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Aug 01 - There appears to be no association between use of antibiotics early in life and the development of asthma and allergic conditions later in childhood, according to Boston-based researchers.
"Since five retrospective studies had reported an association between antibiotic use in early life and asthma in childhood," lead investigator Dr. Juan C. Celed n told Reuters Health, "we were interested in studying the relation between the use of oral antibiotics in the first year of life and allergic diseases."
Dr. Celed n of the Channing Laboratory and colleagues examined the possible association between such antibiotic use and asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema at the age of 5 years among 448 children with a parental history of atopy who had been followed from birth. The findings appeared in the July 1st issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
The investigators found no significant association between antibiotic use in the first year of life and asthma, recurrent wheezing, allergic rhinitis, or eczema at age 5 years.
Dr. Celed n pointed out that "this does not mean, however, that antibiotics should be unnecessarily used in early childhood, as this practice is known to be associated, among other things, with the development of microbial resistance to antibiotics."
Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002;166:72-75.
(NOTE from San: They do not mention food allergies....)
