ArticlePediatric research2026
Early-life antibiotic exposure and the risk of overweight and obesity in children.
Article in Pediatric research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEarly antibiotic exposure has been associated with increased weight gain in children. Evidence associating the timing of antibiotic exposure to overweight and obesity is limited.
methodsThis population-based cohort study included 33,095 vaginally delivered children with 595,213 growth measurements linked to medical records and national registers. Exposures included antibiotic exposure during the year before pregnancy, during pregnancy, in the perinatal period, and within the first 24 months of life. The primary outcomes were zBMI at 24 months of age and the cumulative incidence of overweight and obesity up to 12 years of age.
resultsAntibiotic exposure before or at birth was not associated with childhood overweight or obesity. Exposure during the first 24 months of life was linked to a higher zBMI at two years of age. Long-term analysis revealed an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.09 (95% CI 1.04-1.13) for overweight and 1.20 (95% CI, 1.10-1.31) for obesity.
conclusionAntibiotic exposure during the first two years of life was associated with childhood overweight and obesity. No similar associations were observed for exposure before or at birth. Interventions aiming to reduce obesity-related effects should focus on minimizing early-life antibiotic use within the first two years of life. IMPACT: Early-life antibiotics have been associated with childhood overweight and obesity. We investigated how the timing of early-life antibiotic exposure is associated with childhood overweight and obesity. Antibiotic exposure in the first two years of life was associated with overweight and obesity. No similar associations were found with antibiotic exposure before pregnancy, during pregnancy, or in the perinatal period. Interventions aiming to reduce obesity-associated effects should focus on the first two years of life.
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Registered trials
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