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Survey Shows Link
between Antibiotics and Developmental Delays in Children
International Chiropractic Pediatric Association Newsletter
July 1996
A new nationwide
survey of nearly 700 children is showing a disturbing link between
children with developmental delays and the amount of antibiotics
they have taken,
The survey, which
included youngsters between the ages of one year an 12 years found
that those who have taken more than 20 cycles of antibiotics in
their lifetime are over 50% more likely to suffer developmental
delays. Children who have had three of fewer rounds of antibiotics
were half as likely to become developmentally delayed.
The 9 month survey
began in June 1994 by the Developmental delay Registry, a
multi-national database of 800 families, most of whom who have
children with developmental delays.
The survey's other
findings:
Nearly 75% of the delayed children were reported to be developing
normally in their first year of life
Developmentally delayed children were 37% more likely to have had
3 or more ear infections than unaffected children
Affected children were nearly four times as likely to have had
negative reactions to immunizations
Affected children were twice as likely to have had ear tubes than
unaffected children
Kelly Dorfman, a licensed nutritionist and co-founder of the
Developmental Delay Registry cautions, "Parents should be put
on notice that utilizing antibiotics prophylactically could
jeopardize their children's development. We believe alternative
approaches to treating ear infections should be considered."
The incidence of
children in the United States with developmental, behavioral, and
mental disorders is dramatically increasing. Conservative
estimates show that in the last four years the number of children
under the age of 18 with these disorders has grown from 4.8
million to 7.5 million. Included in these pervasive developmental
disorders are autism, speech and language problems and
multi-system developmental disorders. Symptoms range from skin
irritations and sleep disorders to repetitive behavior and loss of
language.
The ICPA for a
number of years has talked about the abuse of antibiotics. This is
another study which verifies our concerns.
A majority of
the above article was reprinted from the publications of the
Developmental Delay Registry.
Overuse of
Antibiotics real threat
By Doug Levy
USA TODAY 4/28/94
"Crazy"
overuse of antibiotics is one reason drug-resistant diseases such
as TB, staph and pneumonia is on the rise, say experts in today's New
England Journal of Medicine.
Taking antibiotics
"is not like taking an aspirin", says lead author
Alexander Tomasz, Rockefeller University microbiology professor.
"There's vast
overuse", he says, "It's completely crazy."
Among germs
resisting conventional treatments:
Streptococcus pneumonia, which causes pneumonia, meningitis,
otitis media and about 40,000 deaths a year.
Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecium, leading causes of
in-hospital infections; drug-resistant strains now account for
about 1 million infections a year.
Drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis has surfaced in 35
states since 1985.
Another problem:
use of antibiotics in the food chain - to stop diseases among
cattle, fish or other animals - enables germs to build resistance.
Though it may keep
both animals and humans from getting sick now, it raises
the risk that bacteria will develop antibiotic-resistant genes,
says Tomasz.
Over time,"the
resistant gene shows up where it can cause trouble," he says.
The experts call
for:
But "hand in
hand with meticulous infection control must go reductions in the
inappropriate use of antibiotics," says Dr. Barbara Murray,
University of Texas Medical School.
Worldwide health
implications of the problem are the topic at a meeting this week
in Prague, the Czech Republic.
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