Antibiotics, antacids could predispose babies to allergies

Allergies and asthma are on the rise all over the world

Use of acid-suppressing medications or antibiotics in the first 6 months of infancy is associated with an increased risk for the subsequent development of allergic diseases in childhood.

At least 20-30 percent of the Indian population suffers from at least one allergic disease.

A new study published in JAMA Pediatrics could hold the key to a rising incidence of allergies and asthma in populations across the world, particularly in young children. A 2016 study in the International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery estimated that at least 20-30 percent of the Indian population suffers from at least one allergic disease.

Acid-suppressing medicines and antibiotics can contribute to a microbial imbalance in the gut (intestinal dysbiosis). To understand the long term effects, a total of 792,130 children born between October 2001 and September 2013 and enrolled in the military health system until at least age 1 were studied.

The researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland studied all the babies who had been prescribed a histamine-2 receptor antagonist (H2RA), proton pump inhibitor (PPI) or antibiotics in the first six months of life. Allergic diseases are defined as the presence of food allergy, anaphylaxis, asthma, atopic dermatitis (eczema), allergic rhinitis (hay fever), allergic conjunctivitis (eye inflammation), urticaria (rash), contact dermatitis (skin rash), medication allergy or other allergies.

The study concluded: “The use of acid-suppressing medicines was associated with increased risks for all major categories of allergic disease, especially food allergy. Antibiotics also were associated with increased risk of all major categories for allergic disease.”

There were however some limitations. The researchers noted that it is possible that acid-suppressing medicines or antibiotics were given for allergic diseases. Even if misdiagnosis could lead to such a situation, the authors doubt whether this could explain all their findings. The mechanisms by which acid-suppressing medicines and antibiotics might increase allergic sensitization also are not fully understood.