Prenatal and Post-natal Exposure to Antibiotics and Risk of Asthma in Childhood

Abstract

J Metsala, A Lundqvist, L Virta, M Kaila, S Virtanen. J Clin Exp Allergy. 2014;45(1):137–145 The purpose of this study was to explore associations between prenatal and postnatal exposure to antibiotics and the risk of childhood asthma. All children born in Finland between 1996 and 2004 and diagnosed with asthma and 1 matched control per case were identified from 4 national health registries (Drug Prescription Register, Special Reimbursement Register, Population Register, and Medical Birth Register), resulting in 6690 case-control pairs. Prenatal exposure to antibiotics was identified by extracting purchasing history of all antibiotics (ATC Code J01—antibiotics for systemic use) by the mother during pregnancy from …