idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
The risk of celiac disease, an autoimmune reaction driven by gluten, is not a reason to avoid antibiotic treatment. This has been shown by a national study that analyzed the relationship between antibiotics and later celiac disease.
Celiac disease is a chronic autoimmune disorder with increasing awareness and diagnosis, not least among children and young people. Exposure to antibiotics – particularly at a young age – has been reported as a contributing factor for future celiac disease, but the picture is not clear-cut.
The current study, published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, analyzed data on antibiotic use up to one year before diagnosis of celiac disease among 27,789 individuals in Sweden whose disease was confirmed by gastroscopy and intestinal tissue samples.
The celiac group was compared to a control group of 133,451 individuals with matching gender, age, and regional distribution, but with the researchers adjusting for socioeconomic status, comorbidities, and healthcare contacts. The celiac group was also compared to their own siblings (33,112 individuals) without celiac disease.
The results show that individuals with celiac disease had 24% higher odds of prior antibiotics use compared to their matched controls. The association was more pronounced with more frequent antibiotic use. However, the difference in exposure was modest. The proportion of prior antibiotic use was 69% among individuals with celiac disease and 63% among population controls. The sibling analysis revealed a similar pattern.
To broaden the picture, data on 225,548 people who underwent gastroscopy and tissue sampling with findings of normal mucosa were also analyzed. These indiviuals with normal mucosa had 50% higher odds of prior antibitotic use compared to their matched controls. 73% had used antibiotics, compared to 64% of the matched controls, which in this analysis consisted of 1,089,796 individuals.
Maria Ulnes is a pediatrician and a doctoral student in pediatrics at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg.
“It’s easy to think that celiac disease is a result of antibiotic exposure,” she says. “However, the connections are much more complex. It’s possible that factors such as susceptibility to infection and dietary habits contribute to the development of celiac disease, possibly through an impact on the gut microbiota. In this case, adequate use of antibiotics does not appear to pose a risk in itself.”
According to the researchers, the fact that the strongest connection with antibiotic use was found in the group with normal mucosa suggests that increased investigation, as a result of gastric symptoms, contributes more to the observed patterns than a causal relationship between celiac disease and antibiotics.
“We do not see a causal link between celiac disease and antibiotics,” she adds. “Responsible antibiotic use is of course important, but there is no reason to avoid antibiotics due to a fear of contracting celiac disease.”
Press contact: Margareta G. Kubista, tel. +46 705 30 19 80, email press@sahlgrenska.gu.se
Expert contact: Maria Ulnes, first author, doctoral student in pediatrics at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, and specialist physician at Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, tel. +46 709 70 08 72, email maria.ulnes@gu.se
Study: Antibiotic use and later risk of celiac disease: A nationwide case-control and sibling analysis, https://www.cghjournal.org/article/S1542-3565(26)00283-1/fulltext
https://www.gu.se/en/news/risk-of-celiac-disease-is-not-a-reason-to-avoid-antibi...
Maria Ulnes
Copyright: Photo: University of Gothenburg
Criteria of this press release:
Journalists
Medicine
transregional, national
Research results, Scientific Publications
English
Maria Ulnes
Copyright: Photo: University of Gothenburg
You can combine search terms with and, or and/or not, e.g. Philo not logy.
You can use brackets to separate combinations from each other, e.g. (Philo not logy) or (Psycho and logy).
Coherent groups of words will be located as complete phrases if you put them into quotation marks, e.g. “Federal Republic of Germany”.
You can also use the advanced search without entering search terms. It will then follow the criteria you have selected (e.g. country or subject area).
If you have not selected any criteria in a given category, the entire category will be searched (e.g. all subject areas or all countries).
