Antibiotics found to raise risk of diabetes over 50%

Tuesday, December 01, 2015 by: Julie Wilson staff writer
Tags: antibiotic overuse, diabetes, American medical establishment

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(NaturalNews) It's well known that the overuse of overuse of antibiotics can often do more harm than good, leading to a variety of health effects, some of which can be chronic in nature affecting your everyday life and well-being.

However, not as well known is the potential connection between antibiotics and diabetes, which is described in the results of a new study identifying a clear link between the two.

"Those given five or more prescriptions over a period of up to 15 years are up to 53 per cent more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes [emphasis added]" as opposed to those given antibiotics "just once or never," states a report by the UK's Express.

"Evidence that bacteria in the human gut may influence nutrient metabolism is accumulating," wrote the study's authors, who published their findings in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The Denmark-based research tracked 170,404 patients with Type 2 diabetes and 1.3 million healthy people between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2012, finding that the risk for developing diabetes was highest among those given antibiotics "that are effective against a narrow range of bacteria."

"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," explained the study's lead author, Dr. Kristian Mikkelsen.

29 million Americans have diabetes, up 3 million from 2010

Researchers said their results support "the possibility that antibiotics exposure increases type 2 diabetes risk. However, the findings may also represent an increased demand for antibiotics from increased risk of infections in patients with yet-undiagnosed diabetes."

Dr. Mikkelsen said: "Although we cannot infer causality from this study, the findings raise the possibility that antibiotics could raise the risk of Type 2 diabetes."

The study found that those who had Type 2 diabetes filled out on average 0.8 prescriptions for antibiotics per year, while non-diabetics filled out 0.5 prescriptions per year.

"The influence of other key risk factors could not be ruled out and it might be that obesity and Type 2 diabetes cause an increased use of antibiotics, because both are thought to increase the risk of infection," said Dr. Richard Elliott, research communications officer at Diabetes UK.

"Further investigation into long-term effect of antibiotic use on sugar metabolism and gut bacteria composition could reveal valuable answers about how to address this public health crisis," Dr. Mikkelsen said. "Patterns in antibiotic use may offer an opportunity to prevent the development of the disease or to diagnose it early."

While the link between taking antibiotics and developing diabetes is not yet definitive, we do know for sure that these drugs can have lasting effects on the body; as the Express reports, antibiotics have the ability to alter healthy gut bacteria for up to 60 years.

Antibiotic overuse may cause unwanted medical conditions

John W. Anderson and Larry Trivieri wrote in their book titled Alternative Medicine:

Antibiotics are valuable drugs when used appropriately, but the evidence today points to massive overuse.

Antibiotics are often prescribed for medical conditions that do not warrant them. For instance, they are routinely given for colds, but many colds are the result of viral infections, and while antibiotics kill bacteria, they have no effect on viruses.

The use of antibiotics can also result in a variety of side effects due to the way their powerful actions interfere with the delicate balance of the body's systems. This can result in the destruction of the "friendly" bacteria in the body, leading to yeast overgrowth, both locally (vaginal infections) and systemically (candidiasis); interference with nutrient absorption; the develop- ment of food allergies; recurrent ear infections; and immune suppression, as evidenced by the large percentage of adults suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome who have histories of recurrent antibiotic treatment as children or adolescents.

Sources:

CDC.gov

Press.Endocrine.org

NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov

Express.co.uk

Trivieri, Larry; and Anderson, John W. Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide. Berkeley: Celestial Arts. 2002.