Background and objective: Recent investigations have focused on the role of
infections in infancy in promoting or protecting against the subsequent de
velopment of asthma. A related hypothesis concerns the possible role of med
ical responses to infections, including the widespread use of antibiotics.
We chose children at Rudolf Steiner schools to test this latter hypothesis
because a significant proportion of parents rejects the use of conventional
treatments, including antibiotics.
Methods Seventy-five per cent (n = 456) of parents of children aged 5-10 ye
ars attending Rudolf Steiner schools throughout New Zealand completed quest
ionnaires which included questions on the use of antibiotics and a history
of asthma and wheeze in their children.
Results After controlling for potential confounders, antibiotic use was sig
nificantly associated with having a history of asthma (OR = 2.74, 95% CI: 1
.10-6.85) or wheeze (OR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.06-3.26) but not with current whe
eze (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.54-2.16). The adjusted odds ratio for asthma was
4.05 (95% CI: 1.55-10.59) if antibiotics were used in the first year of lif
e and 1.64 (95% CI: 0.60-4.46) if antibiotics had been used only after the
first year of life when compared with children who had never used antibioti
cs. The number of courses of antibiotics during the first year of life was
also associated with increased odds ratios for asthma: 2.27 (95% CI: 1.14-4
.51) for one to two courses and 4.02 (95% CI: 1.57-10.31) for three or more
courses when compared with no antibiotic use in the first year of life. Al
though not significant, the association of antibiotics and hay fever (OR =
1.99 [95% CI: 0.93-4.26]) was of a similar strength to the association of a
ntibiotics with a history of wheeze. Antibiotics were not significantly ass
ociated with eczema (OR = 1.23 [95% CI: 0.71-2.13]).
Conclusion Antibiotic use in infancy may be associated with an increased ri
sk of developing asthma. Further study is required to determine the reasons
for this association.