Intake of antibiotics can affect the composition of the intestinal bacterial community for a period of up to eight years depending on the medications used, indicates study Swedish published this Wednesday.
Led by scientists from in Sweden, the study revealed strong links between the use of antibiotics and the composition of gut of each person, including the diversity of bacterial species.
The research team analyzed the gut microbiome of 14,979 residents in Sweden and compared that of participants who had taken different types of antibiotics in the last eight years with those who had not.
“We can see that antibiotic use four to eight years ago is linked to the current composition of a person’s gut microbiome. Even a single treatment with certain types of antibiotics leaves traces,” he says. first author of the study, and cited by the Spanish news agency EFE.
Antibiotics with the most impact
Scientists found a greater impact with the use of clindamycinas fluoroquinolonas ea flucloxacillinwhile a penicillin Vthe most commonly prescribed antibiotic outside of hospitals in Sweden, was associated with small, short-lived changes in the microbiome.
“The strong link between narrow-spectrum flucloxacillin and the gut microbiome was unexpected and we would like to see this finding confirmed in further studies,” says lead researcher professor of Molecular Epidemiology at Uppsala University.
Possible health implications
According to the researcher, the study’s conclusions can help guide future medical recommendations on the use of antibiotics.
“However, we believe that the conclusions of our study can help inform future recommendations on the use of antibiotics, especially when choosing between two equally effective antibiotics, one of which has a smaller impact on the intestinal microbiome”, concludes the researcher.
According to EFE, Although antibiotics protect against serious infections, their excessive use increases the risk of some diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and gastrointestinal infections.other scientists believe that “the changes in the microbiome caused by these medicines may be the cause of these pathologies”.
