Antibiotics may increase diabetes risk

Taking antibiotics seems to be associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to Danish researchers who matched 170,504 people with the condition and 1,364,008 controls. Patients with type 2 diabetes filled, on average, 0.8 antibiotic prescriptions a year between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2012, compared with 0.5 prescriptions among controls. People who took at least five courses of antibiotics during this time were 53% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who took one or two courses. Taking between two and four courses of antibiotics was associated with a 21% increased risk of type 2 diabetes.