Children prescribed histamine2-receptor antagonists (H2RAs), proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), or antibiotics during the first 6 months of life may be at greater risk of developing allergic disease, research suggests.
A retrospective cohort study looked at the incidence of subsequent allergic disease in 792,130 children, 7.6% of whom were prescribed an H2RA, 1.7% were prescribed a PPI, and 16.6% were prescribed an antibiotic during the first 6 months of life.
Children who were prescribed a H2RA or a PPI had a greater than twofold higher incidence of food allergy (adjusted hazard ratios 2.18 and 2.59, respectively), reported Edward Mitre, MD, of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md., and his coauthors, reported in the April 2 online edition of JAMA Pediatrics.
In particular, the use of acid-suppressing medications was associated with a 2.4-fold increase in the risk of being diagnosed with cow’s milk allergy, while the risk of egg allergy was 74% higher in children prescribed an H2RA and 35% higher in children prescribed a PPI. In children prescribed an H2RA, the risk of peanut allergy was 21% higher, and in children prescribed a PPI, it was 27% higher.
There also was a dose-dependent interaction between the duration of medication and risk of food allergy. Children who were prescribed more than 60 days of PPIs had a 52% higher risk than did those who were prescribed 1-60 days, and a similar but slightly lower increased risk was seen in those prescribed more than 60 days of H2RAs (hazard ratio, 1.32).
Acid-suppressing medication use also was associated with an increased risk of nonfood allergies, in particular medication allergy (adjusted HR, 1.70 for H2RAs and 1.84 for PPIs), allergic rhinitis (aHR, 1.50 for H2RAs and 1.44 for PPIs), anaphylaxis (aHR, 1.51 for H2RAs and 1.45 for PPIs).
Infants prescribed acid-suppressing medication also showed higher rates of asthma, allergic conjunctivitis, and urticaria during childhood.