There’s a global push for doctors and patients to use antibiotics more judiciously, largely because overusing them is contributing to growing resistance—meaning that some infections that were previously treatable no longer respond well to medications. Now, a new study in mice suggests that antibiotics may come with another potential health consequence. They could be interfering with the microbiome—a community of bacteria that live in the gut and elsewhere—and these changes may be passed down through generations and may cause disease.
Prior studies in humans have linked antibiotic exposure to a higher risk for IBD, which is thought to affect about 1.3 million Americans. Blaser says that the new study’s findings add to the evidence that antibiotic overuse may cause health complications even beyond antibiotic resistance.
“A lot of pregnant women are taking antibiotics, and a lot of teen girls are taking antibiotics,” says Blaser. “We are concerned that it could have an effect on the next generation.”