Have you ever asked your doctor for antibiotics even though your doctor is not recommending them? This can often be a uncomfortable situation for a parent and a doctor.
A 2009 study in Pediatrics finds that antibiotic use in the first year of life is associated with increased risk of developing asthma.
Dr. Fawziah Marra of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and colleagues used administrative data from all births in British Columbia, Canada from 1997 to 2003 to determine the relationship to antibiotics prescribed in the first year of life and the development of asthma.
Receiving antibiotics was associated with a small increase (12%) in the development of asthma compared to a baby that did not receive antibiotics and the more times a baby received antibiotics the more likely asthma was to develop. The greatest risk was in babies receiving more than 4 courses of antibiotics in the first year of life (30% increase compared to those not receiving antibiotics).
Dr. Marra concludes "The results of our analysis show a small but significant association between antibiotic use and the subsequent development of asthma. In addition, we found a positive dose response between the number of courses of antibiotics in the first year of life and the risk of asthma, but we did not find that the increased risk was associated with any particular type or class of antibiotics."
While I do not think this study means that your should not take antibiotics if they really need them, it may make you think twice about asking for them if your doctor doesn't prescribe them.
Read about other risk factors for asthma.
