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Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes
03:19

Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes

Published on: June 28, 2024

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Maternal antibiotic exposure during pregnancy and hospitalization with infection in offspring: a population-based

Jessica Eden Miller1, Chunsen Wu2, Lars Henning Pedersen3,4

  • 1Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.

International Journal of Epidemiology
|February 8, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Maternal antibiotic use before or during pregnancy increases children's risk of hospitalized infections. This association highlights potential impacts on the early life microbiome and immune development.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiome research
  • Pediatric infectious diseases
  • Reproductive health

Background:

  • The early life microbiome is crucial for immune system development.
  • Antibiotic use during pregnancy can disrupt the maternal microbiome.
  • This disruption may increase offspring's susceptibility to diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between maternal antibiotic exposure (before and during pregnancy) and the risk of infection-related hospitalizations in children.
  • To explore how timing and duration of antibiotic exposure influence this risk.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized Danish national population-based databases for pregnancies from 1995-2009.
  • Followed live-born singletons from birth until a first infection-related hospitalization, death, age 14, emigration, or end-2009.
  • Defined exposure as maternal antibiotic prescriptions before and during pregnancy; outcome was infection-related hospitalization.

Main Results:

  • Maternal antibiotic exposure during pregnancy was linked to a higher risk of childhood infection-related hospitalization (HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.17-1.19).
  • Increased risks were observed with antibiotic prescriptions closer to birth and with more frequent prescriptions.
  • Antibiotic exposure before pregnancy also elevated the risk (HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.07-1.12).

Conclusions:

  • Antibiotic exposure before or during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of hospitalized infections in children.
  • Potential mechanisms include alterations in the maternal microbiome and shared genetic/environmental factors.
Abstract

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