Antibiotics are the most common prescription drug given to children, and a third of such prescriptions are not necessary. This would not necessarily be a cause for concern, except that antibiotics disrupt gut microbes, imbalances in which are linked to disease in later life, say researchers after reviewing current knowledge linking antibiotic use in infants, imbalance in gut microbes and adult disease.

Share on Pinterest Antibiotics are the most common medication prescribed for use by children.

Evidence of the potential harm to emotional and physical health caused by imbalances in gut microbes – called dysbiosis – is mounting daily. Dysbiosis has been linked to infectious diseases, allergies and other autoimmune disorders, and even obesity, later in life.

For instance, recently, there was a report on how gut microbes are important for the production of serotonin, a brain chemical traditionally associated with regulation of emotions and behavior, but where imbalances in production outside the brain are now also linked to diseases ranging from irritable bowel syndrome and cardiovascular disease, to osteoporosis.

Writing the journal Cell Host & Microbe, the researchers behind this new study – including members from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis – highlight the complex nature of the connection between how microbes in the infant gut react to antibiotics and the development of disease later in life.

Senior author Dan Knights, an assistant professor specializing in computational biology at the University of Minnesota, says:

“Diseases related to metabolism and the immune system are increasing dramatically, and in many cases we don’t know why.”