Exposure to antibiotics in the first six months of life associated with the development of overweight and obesity in children of pre-school age

Abstract

A case-control study was conducted to analyze whether antibiotic exposure in the first six months of life increases the risk of overweight or obesity in the preschool age. We studied 636 patients between 2 and 5 years of age with overweight or obesity 424 paired eutrophic controls. The Odds ratio was 2,69 with a confidence interval of 1,90 – 3,82 (p <0,001). It is concluded that antibiotic exposure during the first six months of life increases the risk of overweight or obesity in the preschool age.