Association between early-life antibiotics use and the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A real-world
Chih-Kang Lin1, Ya-Chun Tseng2, Hsing-Yu Hsu3
1Department of Pharmacy, Cheng Ching General Hospital, Taichung 400620, Taiwan.
Insights
Antibiotic use in young children is linked to a higher risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Penicillin and cephalosporin were specifically associated with increased ADHD incidence.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental condition.
- Emerging evidence suggests a potential link between early-life antibiotic exposure and neurodevelopmental disorders in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between antibiotic usage and the subsequent risk of developing ADHD in pediatric populations.
- To analyze the impact of antibiotic exposure on ADHD risk in children under two years of age.
Main Methods:
- A population-based retrospective cohort study design was employed.
- Data from 1,601,689 children (aged <2 years) were analyzed from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (2004-2012).
- The Cox proportional hazards model was utilized to estimate the risk of ADHD development.
Main Results:
- Over 71% of the studied children received at least one antibiotic prescription.
- Children exposed to antibiotics exhibited a 1.12-fold increased risk of ADHD compared to unexposed children, even after adjusting for confounding factors.
- The use of penicillin and cephalosporin was independently associated with a higher risk of ADHD, irrespective of treatment duration.
Conclusions:
- Antibiotic exposure in early childhood, particularly with penicillin and cephalosporin, is associated with an elevated risk of ADHD.
- These findings highlight the importance of judicious antibiotic use in pediatric care.
Background:
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder. Recently, children using antibiotics showed an increased incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Aims:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between antibiotics use and the risk of ADHD in children.
Study Design:
Population-based retrospective cohort study.
Subjects:
The Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database was used to collect data of children. Prevalence of antibiotics use was analyzed in the children (age, <2 years) included in this study. There were 1,601,689 children included in this study between 2004 and 2012.
Outcome Measures:
The risk of developing ADHD was estimated using the Cox proportional hazards model.
Results:
71.25 % of children used at least one antibiotic, and the mean follow-up period was 7.07 years. After controlling for other related influencing factors, children who used antibiotics had a 1.12 times higher risk of ADHD than those who did not. The risk of ADHD increased through the use of penicillin and cephalosporin regardless of the duration of antibiotics use.
Conclusions:
Antibiotics use in children-especially penicillin and cephalosporin-was associated with a higher risk of ADHD.
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