Childhood infection, antibiotic exposure and subsequent metabolic risk in adolescent and young adult Aboriginal Australians: practical implications

There is now evidence linking antibiotic burden in infancy and subsequent risk factors for cardiometabolic disease. In this study we assessed the metabolic health of a community-based cohort of Aboriginal Australians aged 15–25 years and retrospectively examined their early childhood antibiotic burden to identify a possible link between the two. Metabolic health data were extracted from electronic files of 433 participants in prior Young Persons Checks between 2013 and 2016. More than one-third were overweight or obese. Males had more metabolic syndrome than females (20.6% vs 10%; P=0.03). Metabolic syndrome was twice as common in the 20- to 25-year age group than in the 15- to 19-year age group (19.8% vs 9.7%; P