Celiac disease is a chronic autoimmune condition triggered by gluten ingestion.1 Prior studies have speculated that early antibiotic use may disrupt the gut microbiome, potentially increasing susceptibility to autoimmune disorders, including celiac disease.2,3 We aimed to understand the relationship between antibiotics given in early childhood and subsequent diagnoses of celiac disease.
We studied 597,531 children from birth through age 6 and categorized them based on the number of antibiotic courses the child received in the first year of life. We limited our analysis to antibiotics in the first year of life to avoid potential conflation with antibiotics often prescribed in later childhood as part of an assessment for celiac disease. We included patient demographics, gestational age and delivery method, frequency of outpatient care, number of first year infections, and maternal history of celiac disease in our analysis.
Overall, while antibiotic use was associated with a lower likelihood of being diagnosed with celiac disease by age 6, this result was only significant for those who had 3-5 prescriptions, as seen in Figure 1.
We found similar results when assessing antibiotic use before age 3, celiac disease by age 3, and in patients without a history of surgery.
