Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 19, 2025
A High-Throughput Multiplexed Screening for Type 1 Diabetes, Celiac Diseases, and COVID-19
Published on: July 5, 2022
Long-Term or Recurrent Antibiotic Use in Early Life and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Population-Based Prospective
Zijun Li1,2, Qiangsheng He3,4, Xin He1,2
1Evidence-Based Social Science Research Center/Health Technology Assessment Center, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
Background:
Antibiotics in childhood are commonly used and have been linked to gut microbiome dysbiosis and metabolic disorders. However, direct evidence regarding the association between long-term or recurrent antibiotic use (LRAU) during early life and diabetes was scarce. We performed this study to investigate this association in two population-based studies.
Methods:
We undertook a prospective analysis encompassing 147 010 participants from the UK Biobank. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of self-reported LRAU during early life on diabetes risk. We also conducted a case-control study within the Chinese population, in which 263 diabetes cases and 526 controls were matched for age and living location. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CI were was calculated using logistic regression models.
Results:
We identified 4314 incident cases of type 2 diabetes over 1 840 944 person-years of follow-up in the UK Biobank. LRAU during early life was associated with a 26% higher risk of diabetes after accounting for putative risk factors (HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.16-1.37) in the UK biobank. We observed a more evident association between LRAU and an elevated risk of diabetes in the case-control study (OR, 3.32; 95% CI, 2.06-5.38). The primary finding was robust to several subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses.
Conclusions:
LRAU during early life may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Caution should be exercised when prescribing long-term or recurrent antibiotics to children and adolescents.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Diabetes Mellitus: Type 2 and Gestational
01:22Diabetes Mellitus: Overview and Type I Subtype
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, the body is unable to produce sufficient insulin, and individuals with...
01:15Diabetes: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Complications
01:16Insulin: Dosing Regimen and Adverse Effects
The basal dose constitutes about 40%-50% of the total daily dose, with the rest as premeal insulin. The mealtime insulin dose should mirror...
01:20Pathophysiology of Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is characterized by autoimmune-mediated destruction of pancreatic β cells, with environmental factors potentially triggering this process in genetically susceptible individuals. Despite many not having a family history, certain genes increase susceptibility,...
02:20Longitudinal Research