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Type 2 diabetes diagnosis related to antibiotic use
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More antibiotic use was found among people with type 2 diabetes in the years leading up to the diagnosis compared with people without type 2 diabetes, according to recent study findings published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
“In our research, we found people with type 2 diabetes used significantly more antibiotics up to 15 years prior to diagnosis compared to healthy controls,” Kristian Hallundbæk Mikkelsen, MD, of Gentofte Hospital in Denmark, said in a press release. “Although we cannot infer causality from this study, the findings raise the possibility that antibiotics could raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. Another equally compelling explanation may be that people develop type 2 diabetes over the course of years and face a greater risk of infection during that time.”
Mikkelsen and colleagues used records from three national health registries in Denmark to evaluate data from 170,504 people with type 2 diabetes and 1.3 million people without diabetes (controls) and their antibiotic use to determine the effect of use on the risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
Overall, there were more antibiotic prescriptions were filled (0.8 per year) among participants with type 2 diabetes compared with controls (0.5 per year).
Compared with filling zero to one prescription for antibiotics, participants who filled two to four had an increased risk for type 2 diabetes (adjusted OR = 1.21; 95% CI, 1.19-1.23). There was also an association between filled prescriptions and type 2 diabetes (OR = 1.53; 95% CI, 1.5-1.55). Higher ORs were found with narrow-spectrum and bactericidal antibiotics compared with broad-spectrum and bacteriostatic antibiotics.
“Diabetes is one of the greatest challenges facing modern health care, with a globally increasing incidence,” Mikkelsen said. “Further investigation into long-term effect of antibiotic use on sugar metabolism and gut bacteria composition could reveal valuable answers about how to address this public health crisis. Patterns in antibiotic use may offer an opportunity to prevent the development of the disease or to diagnose it early.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: Mikkelsen reports holding stocks in Chr. Hansen and Probi. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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