Changes to Gut Microbiota Following Systemic Antibiotic Administration in Infants

Long-term antibiotic use can have consequences on systemic diseases, such as obesity, allergy, and depression, implicating the causal role of gut microbiome imbalance. However, the evaluation of the effect of antibiotics in early infancy on alterations to the gut microbiome remains poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the gut microbiome state in infancy following systemic antibiotic treatment. Twenty infants under 3 months of age who had received antibiotics for at least 3 days were enrolled, and their fecal samples were collected 4 weeks after antibiotic administration finished. Thirty-four age-matched healthy controls without prior exposure to antibiotics were also assessed. The relative bacterial abundance in feces was obtained via sequencing of 16 S rRNA genes, and alpha and beta diversities were evaluated. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Escherichia/Shigella and Bifidobacterium increased (p = 0.03 and p = 0.017, respectively) but that of Bacteroides decreased (p = 0.02) in the antibiotic treatment group. The microbiome of the antibiotic treatment group exhibited an alpha diversity lower than that of the control group. Thus, systemic antibiotic administration in early infancy affects the gut microbiome composition even after a month has passed; long-term studies are needed to further evaluate this.