Antibiotics and risk of pediatric Crohn's disease

I couldn't let the meta-analysis from Ryan Ungaro and colleagues [1] pass without a brief mention. Concluding that: "Exposure to antibiotics appears to increase the odds of being newly diagnosed with CD [Crohn's disease] but not UC [ulcerative colitis]" and further: "This risk is most marked in children diagnosed with CD", the implications from this and other findings in this area may be far-reaching.

I've talked before on this blog about antibiotic exposure and risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (see here) and how, bearing in mind risk is risk, there may be quite a bit more to see in the whole gut bacteria - disease risk arena. Acknowledging that science is still feeling it's way around this area and in particular, whether the use of probiotics might offset any risk or mitigate symptoms [2], the meta-analytic contribution of Ungaro et al represent another important driver for further investigation into those trillions of beasties which call us home [3]. Oh and then there is the gut-brain axis too?

Music to close... Be Happy.

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[1] Ungaro R. et al. Antibiotics Associated With Increased Risk of New-Onset Crohn’s Disease But Not Ulcerative Colitis: A Meta-Analysis. The American Journal of Gastroenterology. 2014. 16 September.

[2] Orel R. & Trop TK. Intestinal microbiota, probiotics and prebiotics in inflammatory bowel disease. World J Gastroenterol. Sep 7, 2014; 20(33): 11505–11524.

[3] Wu GD. Diet, the Gut Microbiome and the Metabolome in IBD. Nestle Nutr Inst Workshop Ser. 2014;79:73-82.

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Ungaro R, Bernstein CN, Gearry R, Hviid A, Kolho KL, Kronman MP, Shaw S, Van Kruiningen H, Colombel JF, & Atreja A (2014). Antibiotics Associated With Increased Risk of New-Onset Crohn's Disease But Not Ulcerative Colitis: A Meta-Analysis. The American journal of gastroenterology PMID: 25223575