The impact of early‐life and prolonged antibiotics exposure on 78 common diseases: Evidence from epidemiology

Background Early‐life and prolonged exposure to antibiotics has been associated with various health issues. This study aimed to explore the relationship between early‐life antibiotic exposure and different health outcomes from the perspective of epidemiology. Methods Using electronic hospital records, questionnaire data and genotype information from the UK Biobank, this study analysed 158 391 individuals with early‐life and prolonged antibiotics exposure to investigate its association with 78 common diseases. After adjusting for covariates, we conducted an observational study to explore the relationships between antibiotic use and various diseases. Subsequently, a genome‐wide association analysis was performed on early‐life and prolonged antibiotics use, and eight Mendelian randomization methods were applied with instrumental variables to account for confounding factors and explore potential causal relationships. Results In our observational study involving 78 common diseases, our findings revealed significant associations between exposure to antibiotics during early life and 42 diseases, after correcting the false discovery rate. Among these, 8 diseases demonstrated causal evidence. These diseases include type‐2 diabetes (odds ratio [OR] with 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.27 [1.18, 1.36], P = 4.8 × 10 −11 ), depression (OR = 1.77 [1.67, 1.89], P = 2.2 × 10 −72 ), inflammatory bowel disease (OR = 1.28 [1.14, 1.45], P = 6.2 × 10 −5 ), polymyalgia rheumatica (OR = 1.28 [1.07, 1.53], P = 6.4 × 10 −3 ), giant cell arteritis (OR = 1.55 [1.12, 2.14], P = 7.5 × 10 −3 ), sciatica (OR = 1.54 [1.35, 1.76], P = 8.3 × 10 −11 ), cystitis (OR = 1.51 [1.31, 1.74], P = 8.1 × 10 −9 ) and bronchiectasis (OR = 2.70 [2.37, 3.06], P = 9.7 × 10 −52 ). Conclusion This study revealed the enduring and detrimental effects of prolonged antibiotic usage during early life, which can potentially result in the development of diseases across multiple bodily systems.