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Updated: Sep 5, 2025

A Murine Model of Fetal Exposure to Maternal Inflammation to Study the Effects of Acute Chorioamnionitis on Newborn Intestinal Development
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Pathways of atopic disease and neurodevelopmental impairment: assessing the evidence for infant antibiotics

Elizabeth Volker1, Carmen Tessier1, Nicole Rodriguez1

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, FoMD, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Expert Review of Clinical Immunology
|July 13, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Early life antibiotic use may influence neurodevelopmental disorders and atopic disease through the gut-brain axis. Research explores links between infant antibiotic exposure, infection, feeding status, and conditions like ADHD and ASD.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Neuroscience
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Emerging epidemiologic studies suggest a correlation between early-life antibiotic exposure and neurodevelopmental disorders.
  • The gut microbiota-brain axis is a proposed mechanism linking infant antibiotic use to potential health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and interpret existing evidence on the association between infant antibiotic use and later atopic disease and neurodevelopmental disorders.
  • To critically evaluate study biases, including confounding factors like maternal/infant infection and infant feeding status.
  • To discuss shared mechanisms and propose hypotheses regarding immune activation and the gut microbiome.

Main Methods:

  • Narrative review of published literature.
  • Critical assessment of confounding factors in existing studies.
  • Discussion of biological pathways and proposed mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • Infant antibiotic use is associated with both atopic disease and neurodevelopmental disorders.
  • Antibiotic use may serve as a marker for underlying prenatal or infant infections.
  • Breastfeeding status is a significant mediating factor to consider.

Conclusions:

  • Atopic disease and neurodevelopmental disorders share common risk factors and biological pathways.
  • The gut-brain axis offers a framework for understanding the impact of early-life exposures.
  • Further research is needed to elucidate causal pathways and the role of the gut microbiome in neurodevelopmental impairment.
Abstract

Keywords:
antibioticsatopybreastfeedinggut-brain axisinfantinfectioninflammationmicrobiomeneurodevelopment

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