ARE ANTIBIOTICS LINKED TO A HIGHER RISK OF ECZEMA
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ARE ANTIBIOTICS LINKED TO A HIGHER RISK 
OF ECZEMA?
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 For some time, researchers have wondered if antibiotic use in babies (or even in their 
pregnant   moms) might be linked to the development of eczema later in life.
 In the last few years, several analyses of large population databases and reviews of 
multiple studies across time (meta analyses) are providing a clearer picture of 
antibiotics’ role in the development of eczema.
 Does early antibiotic use increase eczema risk in babies?
 The answer appears to be yes for kids themselves but is less conclusive if their moms 
took antibiotics during pregnancy. 
 One 2020 meta analysis of 26 studies concluded that maternal use of antibiotics might 
increase the risk of eczema (69%) and asthma (29%). But a recent study in a major 
journal (JAMA) of 700,000 Swedish children had less clear-cut results.  
 It found a strong link between prenatal antibiotic use and risk of eczema (52%), but the 
result disappeared when researchers compared the outcomes for siblings born when the 
mother did not take antibiotics, suggesting other environmental or genetic factors might 
contribute to eczema in these families.
 However, the effects of early antibiotic use in babies and very young children are 
consistent across many studies.
 In a 2017 meta analysis of 34 studies studying more than 340,000 children across 6 
decades, researchers concluded that kids exposed to antibiotics in the first 2 years of 
life were 26% more likely to develop eczema.
 A 2020 Korean study matched 244,000 children with eczema with an equal number of 
healthy kids and found a greater risk (60%) of developing eczema in children who 
received antibiotics and that risk increased as the number of infections and antibiotic 
exposures increased.
 A 2022 Taiwanese study looked at over 21,000 children in a national health database. 
They found that kids who eventually developed eczema were 13% more likely to have 
had infectious diseases than children who never developed eczema. They also 
confirmed the results of previous studies that there was a significant increased risk of 
developing eczema after infection and systemic exposure to antibiotics.
 There are a number of reasons for being cautious about overuse of antibiotics, including 
encouraging antibiotic resistant bacteria that endanger us all. 
 But if your family is prone to atopic diseases you might talk to your doctor about 
antibiotic use and your baby’s risk for eczema.
               THANK YOU
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