This meta-analysis suggests that early-life antibiotic use is associated with an increased risk of T1D, particularly with repeated courses and broad-spectrum agents. However, confidence in these findings is constrained by variability in study design and exposure definitions, as well as the potential for confounding by indication. While the observed associations are modest, they highlight the importance of judicious antibiotic prescribing in early life. Further large, well-designed prospective cohort studies are needed to clarify causality and better disentangle the effects of antibiotics from those of underlying infections.
Ram et al. (Wed,) studied this question.