Daily Medications May Impact Long-Term Gut Health, Study Finds

Some daily medications could impact your gut health in the long term.

A large study from Estonia found that the gut microbiome – or the ecosystem that lives in the intestines – can be reshaped by antibiotics, according to new research published in ASM Journals.

Other medications, like antidepressants and cold medications, can also change the bacteria in your gut. These effects can build up over time and even last for years after taking the medications.

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The study analyzed stool samples from 2,509 people, linking their microbiological data to electronic health records containing up to five years of prescription history. A second stool sample was collected from a subcohort of 328 individuals approximately 4.4 years later.

Nearly 90% of the drugs studied were associated with microbial changes. (iStock)

Researchers studied which medications were associated with microbiome changes, whether the amount or duration of use enhanced these impacts, and what happened to a patient when a medication was started or stopped.

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Of the 186 drugs tested, 167, or 89.8%, were linked to at least one microbial effect.

Even when taken years before the study, many medications were still associated with microbiome variation, including antibiotics, psycholeptics, antidepressants, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), beta blockers, and benzodiazepine derivatives, the researchers found.

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For some medications, more frequent or longer use was associated with greater microbiome disruption, suggesting that these effects accumulate over time.

The study also found that starting and stopping certain medications – particularly PPIs, SSRIs and certain antibiotics – could lead to changes in the microbiome.

Antibiotics, psycholeptics, antidepressants, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), beta blockers and other medications had an effect on the microbiome, the study found. (iStock)

Fox News Senior Medical Analyst Dr. Marc Siegel shared with Fox News Digital the old adage: “You are what you eat.”

“It may be that you are also sensitive to the medications you are taking,” he said of the new study.

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Siegel noted that these results are “not surprising,” since gut flora is fragile and can be “easily altered by active chemicals.”

“This may have short- and long-term implications for metabolic processes – and not only for the health of the gastrointestinal system, but also for the brain, due to the direct links between the gut and the brain via the vagus nerve,” he said.

The intestinal flora is fragile and can be “easily altered by active chemicals,” confirms a doctor. (iStock)

The doctor added: “This is a study with important implications that should lead to much more research, particularly on the link between alteration of intestinal flora due to various medications and various diseases.”

Potential Limitations

The study authors pointed out some limitations in their research, including that it focused only on prescription drugs and did not take into account the effects of over-the-counter medications.

It was also possible that some people taking antibiotics had underlying health conditions that could have also affected gut health. Diet, lifestyle and other factors could also play a role.

“This is a study with important implications that should lead to much more research.”

Additionally, electronic health record data may be incomplete or unclear in some cases.

The researchers also only analyzed stool samples, meaning microbial changes in certain intestinal regions could have gone unnoticed.

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“We emphasize the importance of considering medication use history when evaluating disease-microbiome associations,” the authors said in the journal publication.

“Taken together, our results expand the understanding of the effects of drugs on the microbiome, and we encourage researchers to focus on the long-term effects of drugs whenever possible. »