Antibiotics...Increase risk to developing T1 among young children?

Type 1 & LADA
1

I am wondering how many children have used antibiotics leading up to a T1 diagnosis? I don’t want to sound like an anti-vaxxer, but the fact is there were multiple uses of antibiotics leading up to diagnosis and there are mixed results when researching studies. My other son has now developed an ear infection and was prescribed antibiotics. I am hesitant.

1 Like
2

Seems like might be a case of third variable-caused correlation if there is in fact one—onset of pediatric diabetes often seems to follow some sort of an infection, so my guess would be the infection itself could be a trigger, more than the antibiotic. I didn’t use antibiotics any time close to prior to diagnosis for what it’s worth; I did have a bad flu-like virus a few months before though.

3 Likes
3

@Bradford, our son was diagnosed antibiotics multiple times in the year prior to diagnosis, and developed a maculopapullar (nonallerlgic) rash as a result. I suspect it can be one of the things that disturbs the microbiome in the gut and thereby tips the balance slightly in favor of the condition.
But I guess the issue is that with ear drums, they can rupture with little ones if not treated promptly. On the other hand, they’re usually just guessing as to whether ear infections are viral or bacterial in nature. You could fill the prescription, then wait it out with tylenol, sudafed nd TLC to see if he gets better on his own in two to three days. Even with a treated bacterial infection, however, the fluid in the ears can linger a month.

2 Likes
4

My son had a viral infection that was diagnosed in the months prior to diagnosis. In fact, I don’t think he had taken antibiotics for a few years prior to diagnosis.

Of course, individual histories are difficult to tease out causation.

2 Likes
5

My son was taking antibiotics when he was diagnosed, BUT:

His A1c was 12.5%. So he had been a diabetic for a long time.

My suspicion is that, when your few beta cells left get overwhelmed, it is often during a time of immune system stress, which may well be at a time when, to cure your problem, you are prescribed antibiotics. I am very leery of any further conclusions.

2 Likes