Kids who took antibiotics were 1.5x more likely to develop IBS. A Swedish study of nearly 3,000 children found that antibiotic use during childhood and adolescence was tied to significantly higher odds of irritable bowel syndrome by age 24. The more prescriptions a child received, the greater the risk — pointing to the gut microbiome as a likely culprit.
A new Swedish study presented at the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week 2026 conference found that children and adolescents who used antibiotics had 1.5 times higher odds of developing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) by age 24 compared to those who didn't. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg analyzed data from nearly 2,900 participants in the long-running BAMSE study, tracking antibiotic prescriptions from ages 9–11 through early adulthood.
The findings suggest a dose-response relationship — the more antibiotic courses a child received, the higher their IBS risk. Certain antibiotic classes, particularly tetracyclines and cephalosporins, were associated with the greatest risk. By age 24, 10% of participants had IBS, and 87.8% of those had received antibiotics, versus 80.2% of those without IBS.
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Why it matters: While the study doesn't prove causation, it adds to growing evidence that antibiotic use disrupts the gut microbiome in ways that may have lasting consequences. For clinicians, it reinforces the importance of judicious antibiotic prescribing in pediatric patients.
