THE ESSENTIAL
- In infants, antibiotics reduce gut bacteria from the first dose
- The risk is to develop long-term diarrhea, IBD or overweight
Antibiotics would disrupt the microbiota of infants from the first course. This is demonstrated a study by researchers from the University of Helsinki whose results confirm the adverse effects of these drugs. This work was carried out on infants with a respiratory virus infection who had never received antibiotics before. Some of these very young children experienced complications as a result of the viral infection and were prescribed antibiotics while those who did not suffer complications were not treated with antibiotics, allowing to compare the results.
Results six weeks after the start of treatment
And these results show that in children treated with antibiotics, the microbiota, six weeks after the start of treatment, shows a reduction in the number of bacteria leaving more room for the fungal microbiota (mushrooms) to multiply. “Our research clearly indicates that bacteria in the gut regulate the fungal microbiota and keep it in check. When bacteria are disrupted by antibiotics, fungi, Candida in particular, have the opportunity to reproduce.“, specifies Rebecka Ventin-Holmberg, doctoral student at the University of Helsinky.
Diarrhea, IBD, overweight
While antibiotics are the most commonly prescribed drugs for infants, they are therefore thought to cause the most significant and long-lasting changes in the gut microbiota at this stage of its development. “These drugs can have adverse effects, such as antibiotic-associated diarrhea; they also increase the risk of developing chronic inflammatory diseases, such as IBD and are also linked to excess weight“, specifies Rebecka Ventin-Holmberg.
While the effects of antibiotics on the bacterial microbiota have already been studied, this research is one of the first to focus on the fungal microbiota. And among the lessons to be learned from this is the long-term role that this fungal microbiota can play in the lasting effects of gut microbiota imbalance. “Future research should focus on all gut microorganisms to get a better overview of the microbiome“, said Rebecka Ventin-Holmberg.