Antibiotics accelerate sexual maturation of girls – scientists

Scientists associate the use of antibiotics in infants with early onset of puberty in girls

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Scientists believe that the use of antibiotics for the treatment of infants can increase the risk of puberty of girls.

This was reported at the first common Congress of the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the European Society for Endocrinology (ESE), writes Medical Xpress.

Early puberty is a condition in which secondary sexual signs begin to develop in children too early: girls – up to 8 years, and boys – up to 9.

Most often, this condition is observed in girls, and often it has no obvious reason. In recent decades, the number of cases of early ripening has increased, so researchers have constantly studied possible factors that affect it.

In the course of the study, Korean scientists from the University of Khanyansky analyzed data on the use of antibiotics among more than 322 thousand children aged 0 to 12 months in South Korea. They watched these children before reaching girls 9 years old, and boys 10.

Scientists have found out that Girls who received antibiotics before reaching 3 months had 33% higher risk of early maturation. The risk was even higher (40%) in those who took antibiotics under 14 days. In general, that the child was exposed to antibiotics, the higher the risk of early maturation.

The likelihood of early maturation was also higher among those who received antibiotics with greater variety of classes. Yes, girls who received antibiotics in at least five classes had 22% more risk than those who used antibiotics from one or two.

At the same time No connection between the use of antibiotics under the age of 1 year and early maturation in boys.

The author of the study, Dr. Juns Cho, of the University of Khansky in South Korea, emphasizes that these data should encourage parents and doctors to a more weighted approach to antibiotics in the first months of life.

« We see that an early impact on microbiome or hormonal processes can have long -term consequences for a baby’s development, » She notes.

In further research, scientists plan to find out how antibiotics can affect the hormonal system, growth and metabolism, as well as other long -term risks.

Earlier we wroteMore than 3 million children died due to antibiotic resistance in the world in 2022.