Is Early Antibiotic Exposure Associated with Increases in Body Mass?

Exposure during the first 6 months of life was associated with increased body mass at ages 10 to 38 months, but the effect disappeared by age 7 years.

Exposure to low-dose antibiotics early in life is known to fatten animals. Is the same true for children? Investigators in the U.K. explored potential associations between exposure to antibiotics at three age intervals (<6 months, 6–14 months, and 15–23 months) and morphometric measures in a longitudinal birth cohort of 11,532 infants weighing ≥2500 gm (mean, 3477 gm) at birth. The cohort was 93% white, and 26% were breast-fed.

Nearly one third of the cohort had received antibiotics by 6 months of age, and only 26% had no reported antibiotic exposure by age 24 months. Infants who received antibiotics during the first 6 months had significantly greater body-mass index and weight-for-length measures at ages 10 to 38 months than children who we…

Reviewing Author

F. Bruder Stapleton, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardCareer Physician

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society of Pediatric Nephrology Foundation (Chair)

F. Bruder Stapleton, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardCareer Physician

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society of Pediatric Nephrology Foundation (Chair)

Is Early Antibiotic Exposure Associated with Increases in Body Mass?

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Reviewing Author