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Studies of a possible link between early-life antibiotic exposure and increased weight gain, largely from single centers, have produced mixed evidence.
Using data from 362,550 patients reported by 35 institutions in a clinical research network, researchers examined body-mass index (BMI) z score and risk for overweight (BMI ≥85th percentile) or obesity (BMI ≥95th percentile) at age 5 years by number of antibiotics exposures before age 24 months (0, 1, 2, 3, ≥4). Covariates included corticosteroid episodes, number of encounters, and number of infections before 24 months, as well as sex, race, ethnicity, preterm birth, and asthma. Analyses were done separately for children with versus without a chronic complex condition.
At 5 years of age, 28% o…