Plenty of previous studies have highlighted the link between the gut microbiome and the brain, but it’s not clear exactly what the relationship might be. This new research adds more data points in a much-needed field of study.
“In a cohort of over 14,000 women, we observed that antibiotic use in midlife was significantly associated with subsequent poorer scores for global cognition, learning, and working memory, and psychomotor speed and attention,” write the researchers in their paper.
“To our knowledge, our study represents the first large study of chronic long-term use of antibiotics and subsequent cognition.”
For women on antibiotics, the resulting drop in brainpower across the various categories of learning, response, and memory was the equivalent of about three or four years of normal aging, according to the data.
“This relationship was associated with longer duration of antibiotic use and persisted after adjustment for many potential confounding factors,” write the researchers.
The limitations of this study are that it didn’t look at any particular type of antibiotic and that it relied on self-reporting for antibiotic use. However, the large sample size and the factoring in of other variables, including diet and other medications, increase its value.
Investigations into the link between antibiotics, gut microbiome, and brain function will continue, but to date, this is one of the best studies we’ve got looking at the potential long-term effects in adult human beings.
“Given the profound effect of antibiotic use on the gut microbiome – with prior studies showing alterations in functional potential at two and four years after antibiotic exposure – the gut-brain axis could be a possible mechanism for linking antibiotics to cognitive function,” write the researchers.
The research has been published in PLOS One.
“In summary, we found that chronic antibiotic use during midlife was associated with minor decreases in cognitive scores assessed a mean of seven years later,” the authors write.
“These data provide a better understanding of potential complications of antibiotics throughout life, as well as generate hypotheses about the role of the gut microbiome in cognition.”
Source: Medindia
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