The use of antibiotics has improved the health of millions of individuals. However, in a new study by Boursi et al. an important and surprising hypothesis is presented: treating infections with repeated antibiotic therapy in early life can increase the risk of developing diabetes mellitus in adulthood.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Cox, L. M. et al. Altering the intestinal microbiota during a critical developmental window has lasting metabolic consequences. Cell 158, 705–721 (2014).
Azad, M. B., Bridgman, S. L., Becker, A. B. & Kozyrskyj, A. L. Infant antibiotic exposure and the development of childhood overweight and central adiposity. Int. J. Obes. (Lond.) 38, 1290–1298 (2014).
Boursi, B. et al. The effect of past antibiotic exposure on diabetes risk. Eur. J. Endocrinol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1530/EJE-14-1163 (2015).
Hooper, L. V. et al. Molecular analysis of commensal host-microbial relationships in the intestine. Science 291, 881–884 (2001).
Koren, O. et al. Host remodeling of the gut microbiome and metabolic changes during pregnancy. Cell 150, 470–480 (2012).
Turnbaugh, P. J. et al. A core gut microbiome in obese and lean twins. Nature 457, 480–484 (2009).
Goedert, J. J., Hua, X., Yu, G. & Shi, J. Diversity and composition of the adult fecal microbiome associated with history of cesarean birth or appendectomy: analysis of the American Gut Project. EBioMedicine 1, 167–172 (2014).
Membrez, M. et al. Gut microbiota modulation with norfloxacin and ampicillin enhances glucose tolerance in mice. FASEB J. 22, 2416–2426 (2008).
Amar, J. et al. Intestinal mucosal adherence and translocation of commensal bacteria at the early onset of type 2 diabetes: molecular mechanisms and probiotic treatment. EMBO Mol. Med. 3, 559–572 (2011).
Amar, J. et al. Involvement of tissue bacteria in the onset of diabetes in humans: evidence for a concept. Diabetologia 54, 3055–3061 (2011).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
R.B. and J.A. are consultants and own shares in Vaiomer.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Burcelin, R., Amar, J. Antibiotics or prodiabetics?. Nat Rev Endocrinol 11, 385–386 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2015.75
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2015.75
