Study warns against surge in antibiotic prescribing in young adults

A comprehensive study by University of Manchester epidemiologists has uncovered alarming trends in antibiotic prescriptions among younger patients. The research, analyzing 15.7 million patient records, reveals that doctors are frequently prescribing antibiotics without adequately evaluating infection risks or potential complications. Younger patients are more likely to receive antibiotics compared to elderly patients, potentially contributing to growing antimicrobial resistance. Experts warn that these prescription practices could undermine the long-term effectiveness of crucial medical treatments.

"Antibiotics are effective in treating bacterial infections, but they carry the risks of antimicrobial resistance" - Professor Tjeerd van Staa

Younger people are being increasingly prescribed antibiotics without proper assessment of complication risk, finds a study, warning that this may potentially lead to resistance.

Key Points

1 Young adults receive antibiotics without proper risk assessment

2 Prescription patterns show concerning medical decision-making

3 Study analyzed 15.7 million patient records

4 Antimicrobial resistance poses significant global health threat

The study, led by epidemiologists at the University of Manchester, UK, showed that doctors are prescribing antibiotics for tens of thousands of patients with infections, with little or no consideration of prognosis and the risk of the infection worsening.

The study based on an analysis of 15.7 million patient records, revealed that the most elderly patients in the sample were 31 per cent less likely than the youngest patients to receive an antibiotic for upper respiratory infections.

This means “many younger people are being prescribed antibiotics, even though they are often fit enough to recover without them, potentially leading to resistance,” said the team in the paper, published in the prestigious Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

Many older people may not be able to deal with infections without antibiotics are not receiving them, with the potential of complications and hospital admissions.

Patients with combinations of diseases were 7 per cent less likely than people without major health problems to receive an antibiotic for upper respiratory infections.

Further, the findings revealed that the probability of being prescribed antibiotics for a lower respiratory tract or urinary tract infection was unrelated to hospital admission risk. On the other hand, the probability of being prescribed an antibiotic for an upper respiratory tract infection was only weakly related to hospital admission risk.

“Antibiotics are effective in treating bacterial infections, but they carry the risks of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and loss of effectiveness when used inappropriately. That is why AMR to antibiotics has been recognised as one of the biggest threats to global public health,” said lead author Professor Tjeerd van Staa from The University of Manchester

“The study finds that antibiotics for common infections are commonly not prescribed according to complication risk and that suggests there is plenty of scope to do more on reducing antibiotic prescribing,” van Staa added.

Dr. Ali Fahmi from the varsity urged “clinicians to focus on improving risk-based antibiotic prescribing for infections that are less severe and typically self-limiting".

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