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Prenatal exposure to antibiotics and wheezing in infancy: a birth cohort study

Maja Popovic1, Franca Rusconi2, Daniela Zugna3

  • 1Dept of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy CPO Piemonte, Turin, Italy maja_popovic@hotmail.com.

The European Respiratory Journal
|December 10, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal antibiotic exposure is not strongly linked to infant wheezing, as infections during pregnancy appear to be the main cause. Some risk remains for third-trimester exposure, but confounding factors largely explain the association.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
  • Environmental Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • The relationship between prenatal antibiotic use and childhood wheezing is controversial.
  • Confounding factors may influence the observed association.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between prenatal antibiotic exposure and childhood wheezing.
  • To determine if confounding factors, such as infections, explain this association.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from the NINFEA birth cohort study.
  • Assessment of antibiotic use in the first and third trimesters of pregnancy.
  • Evaluation of wheezing in children up to 18 months and confounding factors.

Main Results:

  • No significant association found between first-trimester antibiotic exposure and childhood wheezing.
  • Crude associations for third-trimester exposure diminished after adjusting for confounding factors.
  • Genitourinary infections during pregnancy were independently associated with increased wheezing risk.

Conclusions:

  • The link between prenatal antibiotic exposure and infant wheezing is largely attributable to confounding factors, particularly maternal infections.
  • A residual risk of wheezing persists following third-trimester antibiotic exposure, independent of infections.

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