Antibiotic use linked to aging measures and diarrhea in adults
A cross-sectional analysis linked antibiotic prescriptions in the past month to blood-based aging measures and self-reported diarrhea in adults aged 46 and older.
Limit: The human analysis measured recent prescriptions, not chronic environmental enrofloxacin exposure
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In adults aged 46 and older, a cross-sectional analysis of US survey data linked recent prescription antibiotic use to higher biological age and self-reported diarrhea. Researchers estimated biological age from blood chemistry. Compared with nonusers, recent users had higher odds of biological-age acceleration (odds ratio 1.64) and diarrhea (odds ratio 2.66).
In separate experiments, adult zebrafish exposed to the veterinary antibiotic enrofloxacin at 5,000 nanograms per liter for 30 days developed leakier intestines, reduced mucus and inflammation. Rat intestinal cells grown in the lab showed impaired respiration in mitochondria, the cells’ energy-producing structures. The authors identified mitochondrial dysfunction as a key driver of intestinal damage in their models. The antioxidant pyrroloquinoline quinone improved mitochondrial function in the rat cells and reduced intestinal inflammation in zebrafish.
Why it matters
The work addresses whether antibiotic exposure contributes to intestinal aging through damage to cells’ energy-producing structures. The authors propose protecting mitochondria and improving gut microbial communities as promising therapeutic strategies.
Caveats
Cross-sectional data cannot establish whether antibiotics caused the human associations. The human analysis measured recent prescriptions, not chronic environmental enrofloxacin exposure; the experimental findings came from zebrafish and rat cells.
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The paper
Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University
Aging Cell, Apr 30, 2026, Open access
doi.org/10.1111/acel.70526PubMed 42059464
Corrected, Jun 25, 2026
