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Antibiotic use in first year of life associated with asthma by age 3

There was a significant relationship between antibiotic use in the first year of life and the development of asthma and wheeze in children by age 3 years, which was possibly due to confounding respiratory infection, according to recent study results.

Researchers studied 300 mother-child pairs in the Peer Education in Pregnancy Study — an urban Chicago cohort of pregnant women at risk for having children with asthma — between 1998 and 2004. The study included pregnant women who had a first-degree relative with asthma, hay fever or eczema. The researchers surveyed the mothers during each trimester and followed the children from age 4 weeks through 2009.

Asthma diagnosis and wheezing in the third year of life were the primary endpoints, with other respiratory symptoms considered secondary end points.

Fifteen percent of children had asthma and 22% had wheeze at age 3 years. Ninety-six percent of children had infections within the first year of life, and 54% had taken antibiotics within that time. The number of courses of antibiotics was significant for asthma (adjusted OR=1.58; 95% CI, 1.27-1.96) and wheezing (adjusted OR=1.29; 95% CI, 1.07-1.55).

While there was a significant relationship between antibiotics used for respiratory infections and asthma (P<.01), those used for respiratory infections during the same time were not associated with wheezing (P=.08).

“The associations found between antibiotic use in young children and the subsequent development of asthma and wheezing may be due to confounding by respiratory infections,” the researchers concluded.

Disclosure: The researchers received research support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and Cynthia Wagner Cassanova, RN, BSN, Eva Hernandez, MSN, and Victoria Persky, MD, received travel support from NIEHS.