Repeated antibiotic usage ‘may affect child development’

A new study involving animals has offered evidence that the repeated use of antibiotics may have an impact on children's development.

The NYU Langone Medical Center study saw female mice treated with two classes of widely-used childhood antibiotics, including amoxicillin, gain more weight and develop larger bones than untreated mice.

Both of the antibiotics also disrupted the gut microbiome, potentially predisposing them towards obesity, while it was also surmised that the antibiotic-exposed microbiomes may be less adaptable to environmental changes.

Though the study was limited to mice, the findings reinforce a growing body of evidence indicating significant effects on children exposed to antibiotics early in life.

Lead co-author Dr Laura Cox at NYU School of Medicine said: "The number of courses of antibiotics matters. We get a little interruption of the maturation process after the second course of antibiotics, and then we have even more interruption after three courses."

The data could help shape guidelines governing the duration and type of prescriptions given to children, while informing efforts to minimise the use of antibiotic in healthcare unless absolutely necessary.