Taking antibiotics increases the risk of type 2 diabetes

Taking too many antibiotics could raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, experts have warned.

People who receive more than four courses of the drugs over 15 years are 53 per cent more likely to get the disease, according to the results of a large study.

The study of 1.4 million Danish patients shows a clear link between antibiotics and diabetes, the researchers said.

Antibiotics are designed to kill the bacteria that cause infections.

But the drugs also kill off some of the ‘good’ bacteria in the gut, which are known to influence digestion and metabolism.

The authors of the new study suspect that this is the reason for the between antibiotics and diabetes, with alterations in gut bacteria meaning people absorb sugar and fat in different ways.

But an alternative explanation could be that people with as-yet undiagnosed diabetes may be more prone to infection, and therefore use more antibiotics, the scientists said.

The researchers, whose findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, tracked 1.3 million people without diabetes and 170,404 with the disease.

The study found that people with type 2 diabetes filled out 0.8 prescriptions for antibiotics per year on average. In comparison, non-diabetic individuals filled out 0.5 prescriptions per year.

People who received five or more antibiotic prescriptions over a period of up to 15 years was associated with a 53 per cent increase in risk, compared with being given antibiotics just once, or never.

Study author Dr Kristian Mikkelsen, from Gentofte Hospital in Hellerup, Denmark, said: ‘In our research, we found people who have type 2 diabetes used significantly more antibiotics up to 15 years prior to diagnosis compared to healthy controls.

‘Although we cannot infer causality from this study, the findings raise the possibility that antibiotics could raise the risk of type 2 diabetes.

‘Another equally compelling explanation may be that people develop type 2 diabetes over the course of years and face a greater risk of infection during that time.'

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter