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| |  Study Puts to Rest Theory That Antibiotics Contribute to Prevalence of Childhood Asthma: Presented at AAAAI By Maggie Schwarz PHILADELPHIA -- March 19, 2008 -- Study findings refute the hypothesis that antibiotic use in the first year of life increases the risk of childhood asthma, but support the link between use of ibuprofen or prescribed antihistamines/decongestants and asthma, researchers reported here at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting. Kathleen A. Roberg, RN, MS, Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Madison, Wisconsin, and colleagues, reported on a study of 259 children followed from before birth to age 6 years. "We wanted to straighten out the issue of whether there is an association between early use of antibiotics and the development of childhood asthma and atopy," Roberg explained in a presentation on March 16. The researchers analyzed data on 259 children to examine the relationship between use of these drugs and asthma because previous findings on this issue have been inconsistent, Roberg said. "Studies that came out in 1998 and 2005 claimed that decreased use of pediatric aspirin, coupled with a rise in nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs] have contributed to the rise in childhood asthma," she said (Mascia, K. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2005;116(5):970-975. Varner, AE. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 1998;81(4):347-351). For their study, Roberg and colleagues evaluated the records of the 259 children enrolled in the Childhood Origins of Asthma Study presenting with asthma at age 6 years. Study records and primary care records documented administration of medications and were assessed relative to illnesses and subsequent development of allergic sensitization or asthma. Results showed that there was no significant relationship between the use of antibiotics in the first year of life and presence of asthma at age 6 years (31% vs 23%) and no significant relationship between antibiotic use and positive skin prick tests (50% vs 49%). However, the researchers found a significant association between asthma at age 6 years and use of ibuprofen (34% vs 21%, P = .03) or of prescribed antihistamines/decongestants (50% vs 24%, P = .001) during the first year of life. Roberg concluded, "Infants with both moderate to severe asthma and wheezing respiratory illnesses were equally likely to have been given NSAIDs and equally likely to have taken antihistamines/decongestants. There is an association with use of these medications and increased asthma by age 6 years. The risk is further increased when these medications are taken in conjunction with a severe respiratory illness." "Antihistamine/decongestant use is linked to a decreased likelihood of a positive skin prick test at age 5 years," she added. "This large retrospective analysis should lay to rest this decade-long misconception about early antibiotic use leading to the development of asthma," said Roberg. Funding for this study was provided by the National Institutes of Health.
[Presentation title: Early Childhood Use of Antihistamines/Decongestants Linked to Later Asthma. Abstract 357]
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