Approved Research

Antibiotic Exposure and Life History Outcomes

Lay summary

This research study examines how changes in human-microbial interactions in childhood can impact growth and health outcomes in later-life. By using antibiotic's known ability to disrupt microbes' function, this study uses antibiotics' disruptive ability to examine the influences microbes can have on growth and disease outcomes.

The aim of this research is to improve understanding of how microbes influence life in short- and long-term contexts in addition to how early-life influences can produce effects later in life. Understanding these interactions is complex but by controlling for factors which have known influences on human microbes (e.g. diet and medications), we can test for trends that indicate microbially-influenced growth and health outcomes. These trends can then be used to examine changes in historical growth and health patterns which currently lack robust explanations. For modern populations, this study provides a detailed long-term examination of childhood antibiotic influence on later-life health outcomes which could inform the broader understanding of the consequences of antibiotic use.

This research will be conducted over the course of twelve months with the bulk of research being published in a Master's thesis. Additionally, results that warrant further exploration will be published in academia journals and public outreach programs with all information regarding data use and publication being sent to the UK Biobank.