1 in 4 Nonantibiotic Drugs Linked to Disrupted Gut Health

Common medications may make it easier for harmful bacteria to take hold, especially in older or vulnerable patients.

Troyan/Shutterstock

While patients have long known that antibiotics can disrupt gut health, researchers have now discovered that seemingly harmless medications—including common allergy pills, antidepressants, and hormone treatments—may also pose a threat to the protective bacteria that keep dangerous pathogens at bay.

“This can be dangerous to frail or elderly people,” senior study author Lisa Maier said in a statement.

Scale of Problem ‘Utterly Unexpected’

The study, recently published in Nature, found that 28 percent of 53 tested nonantibiotic medications promoted the growth of harmful pathogens such as Salmonella in laboratory models, potentially leaving millions of patients vulnerable to serious intestinal infections.