Antibiotic Exposure in Pregnancy Increases Risk for Childhood Atopic Dermatitis

After careful consideration, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology canceled its annual meeting that was to take place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from March 13 to 16, because of concerns regarding the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Although the live events will not proceed as planned, our readers can still find coverage of research that was scheduled to be presented at the meeting.

Antibiotic use is frequent in pregnant women, and exposure to several antibiotics may be linked to the development of atopic dermatitis in their offspring within the first 24 months of life, according to research intended to be presented at the 2020 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting.

Although associations between antibiotic exposure during pregnancy and childhood allergic diseases have been explored, most reports are based on clinical prescriptions and questionnaires. The current study was designed to examine maternal antibiotic exposure during pregnancy and its potential association with childhood atopic dermatitis.

Participants were 762 pregnant women from a Shanghai prenatal cohort enrolled in the study between 2012 and 2013. Maternal spot urine samples were collected at time of enrollment and the urinary creatinine-corrected concentration of 15 antibiotics was analyzed. Childhood atopic dermatitis was independently diagnosed by 2 dermatologists during a 2-year follow-up based on questionnaires. Logistic regression models, adjusted for confounders, were used to identify associations between maternal urine antibiotic concentrations and childhood atopic dermatitis.

Of the 14 antibiotics detected in urine at a frequency of 0.13% to 82.7%, norfloxacin and enrofloxacin were most common, at a frequency of more than 70%. The most predominant antibiotic was ciprofloxacin (median creatinine-corrected: 73.5 μg/mg creatinine), followed by norfloxacin (54.2 μg/mg creatinine). Overall, 0.93% of participants had a hazard index value >1. Several antibiotics were associated with childhood atopic dermatitis in the first 24 months.

Study investigators concluded that during pregnancy, women are frequently exposed to antibiotics, with fluoroquinolones being the most common, and exposure to several antibiotics during pregnancy is associated with childhood atopic dermatitis.

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Reference

Zeng X, Zhao W, Li C-C, Huang L, Zhang W-X. Maternal antibiotic exposure is associated with childhood atopic dermatitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2020;145(Suppl 2):AB192.

This article originally appeared on Pulmonology Advisor