Large-Scale Study Reveals Strange Link Between Antibiotics And Cognitive Decline

The link between taking antibiotics for at least two months in midlife and a decline in cognitive score assessments is not known.

The team behind the research, led by epidemiologists from the Harvard Medical School, says it shows how important it is to carefully monitor antibiotic use.

There is a link between the gut microbiome and the brain, but it is not clear what the relationship is. There is a need for more data points in the field of study.

In a cohort of over 14,000 women, we found that antibiotic use in midlife was associated with poorer scores for global cognitive, learning, and working memory, and psychomotor speed and attention.

Our study is the first large study of chronic long-term use of anti-biotics.

The women in the cohort had taken antibiotics for a variety of reasons, including for respiratory infections, dental problems, and urinary tract infections.

According to the data, the drop in brain power for those on antibiotics was equivalent to about three or four years of normal aging.

The cognitive ability was assessed after seven years after the antibiotic use began. The four different tasks are designed to measure different aspects of cognitive performance.

The researchers wrote that the relationship was associated with longer duration of antibiotic use and persisted after adjustment for many potential confounding factors.

The link isn't enough to prove that antibiotic use is the cause of a drop in cognitive function. It is possible that the conditions the antibiotics were intended to treat, rather than the antibiotics themselves, caused this small drop in cognitive function.

There is enough here to suggest that more research is necessary. The study did not look at any particular type of antibiotic and relied on self- reporting for antibiotic use. The large sample size and the factor of other variables increase its value.

This is one of the best studies we have done looking at the long-term effects of antibiotics on human beings.

With prior studies showing alterations in functional potential two and four years after antibiotic exposure, the gut-brain axis could be a possible mechanism for linking antibiotics to cognitive function.

The research has been published.