ArticleEClinicalMedicine2025
Association between antibiotic exposure and childhood atopic dermatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Association between early-life antibiotic exposure and gut microbiome alterations linked to allergic diseases in children: a systematic review.European journal of medical research · 2025Pooled it
- The Burden of Early-Childhood Atopic Disease: Prevalence and Risk Factors for Allergic Rhinitis in an Informal Settlement in South Africa.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Review
- Antibiotic stewardship: what for?Frontiers in antibiotics · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Antibiotics constitute a prevalent class of medications prescribed for pediatric patients. Concerns have arisen regarding the impact of early-life antibiotic use on the risk of atopic illnesses, including childhood atopic dermatitis (AD). AD affects approximately 2% of adults but is twice as prevalent in children, with rates ranging up to 4%. Therefore, the potential correlation between antibiotic exposure and childhood AD is of significant concern. Methods: Relevant literature was searched from English databases (PubMed, Web of science, Scopus, and The Cochrane Library) and Chinese databases (CNKI database, VIP Database, Wanfang Database) to May 1, 2025. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted to assess the association between antibiotic exposure and the risk of childhood AD. This study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42024535141). Findings: A total of 39 literature sources were included, encompassing 7,487,925 children. Meta-analysis showed that antibiotic exposure during pregnancy and childhood is associated with an increased risk of childhood AD (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.17-1.28; heterogeneity: I Interpretation: Antibiotic exposure during pregnancy or early childhood enhances AD risk, with childhood exposure posing a higher risk than prenatal exposure. Exposure time (during pregnancy and childhood) and the age at outcome measurement are important influencing factors for this association. Diagnostic criteria, race, frequency of antibiotic exposure, and type of antibiotics may also affect this relationship. While the observed statistical significance may be associated with the increased statistical power afforded by the large sample size, the clinical implications of these findings warrant cautious interpretation. Further comprehensive and high-quality studies are warranted to clarify these findings. Funding: This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang (LYY22H310002), the Medical Science and Technology Project of Zhejiang Province (2024KY1170), Special Fund for the Incubation of Young Clinical Scientist, The Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine (CHZJU2023YS006).
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