Long-term antibiotic use puts women more at risk of death

NEW US research has suggested that women who take antibiotics over a longer period of time may have an increased risk of death from heart disease and other causes.

The study was carried out by researchers from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in the US city of New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.

It looked at 37,510 women aged 60 years and older who were all free from heart disease and cancer at the start of the investigation.

The women were asked to report on their antibiotic use, before being classified into groups based on how long they had used antibiotics: not at all, less than 15 days, 15 days to less than two months, or two or more months.

After following the women for eight years between 2004 and 2012, the team found that those who took antibiotics for two months or longer in late adulthood were 27% more likely to die from all causes during the study than women who did not take antibiotics.

In addition, taking antibiotics for two or more months was also associated with a 58% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease when compared to no antibiotic use.

The results still held true even after researchers took into account other lifestyle factors such as diet, obesity, and medication use.

The researchers also found that the link between antibiotic use in late adulthood and an increased risk of death was stronger among women who had also used antibiotics in middle adulthood, from ages 40 to 59 years.

Previous studies have found antibiotic use to be associated with long-lasting changes to microorganisms that live in the human gut, known as gut microbiota.

However, researchers had yet to examine relatively healthy populations of people to determine how duration of antibiotic use at different times during adulthood might be related to all-cause and cause-specific risk of death, according to study author Qi Lu, professor of epidemiology at Tulane University.

“Gut microbiota alterations have been associated with a variety of life-threatening disorders, such as cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer,” Qi said.

“Antibiotic exposure affects balance and composition of the gut microbiome, even after one stops taking antibiotics.

“So, it is important to better understand how taking antibiotics might impact risks diseases and death.”

No significant association was found between antibiotic use and death from cancer.

Qi added: “Although we observed a notable association between longterm antibiotic use and risk of death, it isn’t yet clear whether long-term antibiotic use is the specific cause of the association.

“For example, women who reported antibiotic use might be sicker in other unmeasured ways.”

However, Qi concluded that the results contribute to a better understanding of risk factors for allcause and cardiovascular death.

“We now have good evidence that people who take antibiotics for long periods during adulthood may be a high-risk group to target for risk-factor modification to prevent heart disease and death.”

The preliminary research was presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention / Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2018 this month in New Orleans. – AFP-Relaxnews for chronic