Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33179025›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of epidemiology2021

Early-life antibiotic use and risk of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder: results of a discordant twin study.

Elise M A Slob, Bronwyn K Brew, Susanne J H Vijverberg, Talitha Dijs, Catharina E M van Beijsterveldt, Gerard H Koppelman, Meike Bartels, Conor V Dolan, Henrik Larsson, Sebastian Lundström and 6 more

Open access · bronzeAbstract readTwin Study
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of epidemiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors at 8 institutions in 3 countries.

Elise M A SlobDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, DE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-8411-7825
Bronwyn K BrewDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Susanne J H VijverbergDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, DE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Talitha DijsDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, DE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Catharina E M van BeijsterveldtDepartment of Biological Psychology, Netherlands Twin Register, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Gerard H KoppelmanDepartment of Paediatric Pulmonology & Paediatric Allergology, Beatrix Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Meike BartelsDepartment of Biological Psychology, Netherlands Twin Register, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Conor V DolanDepartment of Biological Psychology, Netherlands Twin Register, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Henrik LarssonDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-6851-3297
Sebastian LundströmGillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Centre for Ethics Law and Mental Health (CELAM), Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Paul LichtensteinDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Tong GongDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Anke H Maitland-van der ZeeDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, DE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Aletta D KraneveldDivision of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Catarina AlmqvistDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Dorret I BoomsmaDepartment of Biological Psychology, Netherlands Twin Register, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam · NLAmsterdam University Medical Centers · NLKarolinska Institutet · SEUtrecht University · NLKarolinska University Hospital · SEÖrebro University · SEUniversity Medical Center Groningen · NLUniversity of Gothenburg · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDevelopment of the gut-brain axis in early life may be disturbed by antibiotic use. It has been hypothesized that this disturbance may contribute to development of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. We aimed to assess the association between antibiotic use in early life and the risk of developing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism spectrum disorder, while controlling for shared genetic and environmental factors in a discordant twin design.

methodsWe conducted a cohort study in twins (7-12 years; 25 781 twins) from the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR) and a replication study in the Childhood and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS; 7946 9-year-old twins). Antibiotic use was recorded before age 2 years. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder were parent-reported in the Netherlands Twin Register and register-based in the Childhood and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden.

resultsEarly-life antibiotic use was associated with increased risk of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder development [pooled odds ratio (OR) 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.17] and autism spectrum disorder (pooled OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.06-1.25) in a case-control design. When restricting to monozygotic twin pairs discordant for the outcome, associations disappeared for both disorders in both cohorts (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.48-1.69 and OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.37-1.76, and autism spectrum disorder OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.38-1.16 and OR 0.29, 95% CI 0.02-4.50, respectively).

conclusionsOur findings suggest that the association between early-life antibiotic use and risk of attention-deficit hyperactivity and autism spectrum disorder may be confounded by shared familial environment and genetics.

Indexed as

Attention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityAutism Spectrum DisorderAdolescentAnti-Bacterial AgentsChildChild, PreschoolCohort StudiesHumansNetherlandsSwedenAnti-Bacterial AgentsADHDantibioticsASDchildrendiscordant twin designearly lifegut-brain axis

Identifiers

PMID33179025
PMCPMC8248483
OpenAlexW3101607607

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.