NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
Mar 13, 2006
Exposure to at least one course of antibiotics in the first year of life may increase the risk of asthma later in childhood, results of a meta-analysis suggest. There may even be a dose-response relationship, with higher risk with each additional course of antibiotics. The prevalence of asthma in western countries has increased over the last 3 decades, Dr. Carlo A. Marra and colleagues at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver note, which seems to coincide with greater exposure of infants to antibiotics. Nonetheless, epidemiologic evidence linking antibiotic use with asthma risk is conflicting.
