Many previous studies have highlighted that there is a connection between the gut microbiome and the brain; however, there was no clear explanation as to the exact nature of this relationship. In a new study on the subject, new information was obtained on this subject.
The new study of a total of 14,542 women, published in PLOS One, found a link between a decline in cognitive score assessments in midlife after two months of antibiotic use and several years after that. What exactly this connection is still remains a mystery.
Long-term antibiotic exposure may cause cognitive impairment
In a study led by epidemiologists from Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts, participants’ cognitive ability was significantly affected by the onset of antibiotic use. After an average of seven years, the participants were assessed with an online test that they took at home, and with this test, participants were subjected to a total of four different tasks designed to measure different aspects of cognitive performance.
In the research paper, “In a group of more than 14,000 women, we observed that antibiotic use in middle age was significantly associated with later lower scores for global cognition, learning and working memory, and psychomotor speed and attention,” the researchers said. “To our knowledge, our study represents the first major study on chronic long-term antibiotic use and subsequent cognition.” conveyed in the form. However, the team noted that their work is crucial to monitoring antibiotic use carefully, as well as understanding the link between what’s going on in our gut and brain and which antibiotics are affecting this condition.
As a result of the research, among women who took antibiotic drugs for various reasons including respiratory tract infections, dental problems, acne and urinary tract infections, long-term antibiotic users were found in various learning, response and memory categories. The decline in brain power was found to be roughly equivalent to three or four years of normal aging. On the subject, the researchers stated, “This association was associated with longer-term antibiotic use and persisted after adjusting for many possible confounding factors.”
However, as is always the case with this type of study, this It should be noted that the link is not sufficient to prove a cause-effect relationship, that is, the data obtained do not conclusively prove that it is the use of antibiotics that causes the decline in cognition.
On the other hand, this study is due to the fact that more research needs to be done on the subject. “Given the profound impact of antibiotic use on the gut microbiome, as evidenced by previous studies showing changes in functional potency two and four years after antibiotic exposure, the gut-brain axis may be a possible mechanism for associating antibiotics with cognitive function.” states as.
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