Heavy Antibiotic use linked to lymphoma

[luvwinnie]

Wow, I was on antibiotics at LEAST 3x a year as a kid.

Heavy Antibiotic Use May Raise Lymphoma Risk
URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_28168.html (*this news item will not be available after 12/18/2005)




Friday, November 18, 2005



NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Using antibiotics more than 10 times in childhood increases the likelihood of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), a cancer that affects the body's lymphatic system, new research suggests.

Dr. Ellen T. Chang of the Northern California Cancer Center in Fremont and her colleagues also found a marginally increased NHL risk among heavy users of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), but no association between the disease and any other types of medication.

Given the rising incidence of NHL, Chang and her team note in the American Journal of Epidemiology, a number of studies have investigated whether certain medications increase the risk of the disease. But results have been inconclusive, with only strong immunosuppressive drugs consistently being tied to NHL. Because a number of medical conditions also may be associated with NHL, they add, the question of whether the drug or the underlying condition is involved has complicated matters further.

To investigate, the researchers looked at data from the Scandinavian Lymphoma Etiology study, which included 3,055 patients with NHL who were compared with 3187 healthy subjects drawn from Danish and Swedish population registers.

The "striking" association between antibiotic use and NHL was seen for all subtypes of the disease. High NSAID use increased overall risk of NHL and of diffuse large B-cell NHL, but did not increase the likelihood of any other type of NHL.

The increasing use of antibiotics in the 20th century could explain the rise in NHL cases, if the drugs are in fact responsible for the association observed, Chang and her colleagues note. However, they add, their study was unable to determine if antibiotics and NSAIDs affected risk apart from the underlying inflammation, infections or susceptibility to infection.

"Biologic data more strongly support the hypothesis that antibiotic use is an indicator of infection and consequent inflammation, which may increase the risk of NHL, and that high cumulative NSAID use is a marker of chronic inflammation," they conclude.

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, November 15, 2005.

 

[luvwinnie]

Just a bump....I would think MOST kids take antibiotics ten times, no?

 

[Christine]

I thought I had heard something about this last year where heavy use of antibiotics was also linked to breast cancer? Maybe I'm remember this incorrectly though?

 

[helenabear]

Just a bump....I would think MOST kids take antibiotics ten times, no?

I don't know if my siblings ever took them that much in their childhood.

I know I have *never* had the need for antibiotics, so they have never been in my system at all in my entire life.

 

[Pooh67_68]

Guess I'm in trouble than because I was a sickly child and not much has changed as an adult, and only an antibiotic will help me to get better.

 

[monarchsfan16]

Oh good. So the antibiotics that made me healthy could give me a better chance of cancer. Super.
I was on antibiotics more times than I could count when I was younger. And I've been on them a few times as a teen too.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

"Biologic data more strongly support the hypothesis that antibiotic use is an indicator of infection and consequent inflammation, which may increase the risk of NHL, and that high cumulative NSAID use is a marker of chronic inflammation," they conclude.

Many cancers are thought to be a result of the body's immune system not destroying abnormal cancer cells. The same could be summized for the presence of infections. So as quoted above, the presence of infections may be the link more so than the drug use - i.e. the immune system somehow not being up to par. A lot of research is underway looking at things like this.

 

[luvwinnie]

I don't know if my siblings ever took them that much in their childhood.

I know I have *never* had the need for antibiotics, so they have never been in my system at all in my entire life.

You have NEVER taken antibiotics? That is amazing!

 

[helenabear]

You have NEVER taken antibiotics? That is amazing!

I guess I never really thought it was until I got older. It seems to be more "out there" than it is for people to claim they never did drugs or drank before 21. I was given a script for antibiotcs once... and I was only to use them if my sinus infection didn't clear up w/ the help of a decongestant when I was in college. It cleared up so I never filled the script.

I never went into the hospital for anything more than stitches either or to visit. Granted I can count the number of days I missed school from K-12 on one hand as well.

I figured there were more people out there like that... but I guess not! I don't think either of my siblings have been on antibiotics as kids more than 5 times though, but I could be wrong.

 

[kasar]

You have NEVER taken antibiotics? That is amazing!

I know - how lucky! You must have one heck of an immune system.

 

[helenabear]

I know - how lucky! You must have one heck of an immune system.

I hope so... at this point with all I hear about medicine and how antibiotics can hurt in the long run, I'd be afraid to take them now! But truthfully if I needed them (strep or other infections like that) I would

 

[monarchsfan16]

I can't even imagine never having needed antibiotics. I believe you, I just can't imagine it. I had ear infections every year when I was younger (usually multiple times a year), plus strep once. As a teen I've had a sinus infection that required two different antibiotics to clear, and an abcessed tooth. I've spent more than enough time on antibiotics

 

[luvwinnie]

I'm 37 and as a kid in the 70s drs gave antibiotics out like candy...and I was sick a lot. I had bronchitis at least 2x a year.

 

[helenabear]

I guess that is a bit odd when you think about ear infections and the like as kids. I asked my dad and none of us were really prone to that kind of stuff. Not sure how I escaped that, but I never got one as a kid. There seem to be a lot of ailments my friends had that I skipped out on (chicken pox & strep for example). I can't say it was anything unique my parents did because I know my brother and sister both had to have some antibiotcs at some points. I just got lucky I guess.

Even my DH had a few ear infections as a kid... strep once as an adult (fortunately I did NOT get it from him). Though I do admit, I was happy to avoid antibiotics for the one sinus infection I did have. Apparently not all require them if you can get the yuck out before it becomes a huge issue.

I guess to me, the thought of having antibiotics 10 times as a kid does sound high to me though. I suppose I am not at all an average person there.

FWIW, I am 28 (soon to be 29) and I did have all the same shots and treatments from docs otherwise for colds and the like. Just not ones that were big on giving out antibiotics

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I completely agree with Helenabear. I was never on antibiotics as a kid, as my parents had the attitide of just waiting for thing to heal on their own. And I think only used them twice as an adult (for strep throat which was not clearning up!) back in my twenties (I am in my mid 30's). Nowadays, I have to be in really bad shape to even consider going on antibiotics. Just a personal choice, as I know some things require them.

But what gets me upset is how kids nowadays are on antibiotics all the time! I babysit alot of kids, and basically they are on these medicines for probably 6/7 months out of the year, I kid you not. Every sniffle, the parents run to the doctor for an antibiotic. They first get the "pink" one, take it for 10 days, and then the sniffle returns. Then they get the "white" antibiotic, take it for a few days and then the problem still returns! Then they go to Ceclor (sp?) or something even stronger and so on and so on. Some of these kids never seem to get over anything! It's always strep, colds, or ear infections, over and over. And the parents and doctors never think twice about giving out antibiotic after antibiotic. It is completely accepted.

I just believe anything that constantly compromises the immune system can't be a good thing. As said before, just my personal choice not to use them, if I can help it!