Intestinal Diseases on the Rise: Are Antibiotics to Blame?
Written by Samantha Strom
Edited by McKenna Ma
Jan 18, 2021
Edited by McKenna Ma
Jan 18, 2021
In 2015, doctors prescribed 269.4 million antibiotics; in a room with a thousand people, that’s enough to give 838 their own prescription. That number does not even include antibiotics provided by federal healthcare facilities (Outpatient Antibiotic Prescriptions). According to the CDC, “At least 30 percent of antibiotics prescribed in the United States are unnecessary” (1 in 3 Antibiotic Prescriptions Unnecessary). It is an awful lot of pills, but they are useful; since their invention, antibiotics have saved countless lives and have earned the title of “one of the most successful forms of chemotherapy in the history of medicine (Aminov, 2020).” There is, however, always a catch. Research shows that antibiotic use might be putting our guts at risk for a life-long, painful disease: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Karolinska Institutet).
But what is inflammatory bowel disease? Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, is a blanket term that covers long term inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The exact cause of these diseases is unknown, but inflammation may be arising from the immune system irritating and wounding the tract. Patients suffering from these life-long, painful diseases can face a serious blow to their quality of life. It’s no wonder that life can be made difficult with symptoms like bloody diarrhea, weight loss, and pain. These incurable diseases can leave even more damage in their wake by increasing the risk of colon cancer, blood clots, and liver disease (Inflammatory Bowel Disease).
These diseases are becoming increasingly common in the United States and Europe where antibiotic prescriptions are abundant. It has long been proposed that disturbing the body’s community of gut bacteria increases the risk of developing IBD. In a massive, 10 year Swedish study by the Karolinska Institutet and Harvard Medical School, approximately 24,000 newly diagnosed IBD patients, their 28,000 siblings, and 117,000 random individuals from the population were compared to assess risk factors for IBD. With other risk factors adjusted for, the use of antibiotics, especially general, broadly effective antibiotics, was found to almost double the risk for developing IBD. About 1% of the population of Sweden has IBD, and in a big enough population that could amount to thousands of people in pain, so it should be taken seriously (Karolinska Institutet).
What does this mean for the general population? Even though they can double the risk of IBD, antibiotics are not something easily given up. This finding does not mean that people should stop listening to their doctors and refuse to take antibiotics. Findings like these can, however, encourage doctors to stay away from over-prescribing antibiotics when they are not needed. In the meantime, keep eating well, exercising, and doing the best you can to stay healthy.
Works Cited
Aminov, Rustam I. “A brief history of the antibiotic era: lessons learned and challenges for the future.” Frontiers in microbiology vol. 1 134. 8 Dec. 2010, doi:10.3389/fmicb.2010.00134 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3109405/
"CDC: 1 in 3 Antibiotic Prescriptions Unnecessary." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 01 Jan. 2016. Web.
"Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 03 Mar. 2020. Web. 31 Oct. 2020.
Karolinska Institutet. "Antibiotics associated with increased risk of inflammatory bowel disease." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 August 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200817191743.htm>.
"Outpatient Antibiotic Prescriptions - United States, 2015." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12 Sept. 2017. Web. 31 Oct. 2020.
Image Source: Samantha Strom