Main roads
-
Antibiotics do not appear to increase the risk of celiac disease
-
People with celiac disease were more likely to use antibiotics
-
But people with healthy guts were more likely to use antibiotics
FRIDAY, May 1, 2026 (NewsDay News) — Antibiotics do not appear to increase the risk of developing celiac disease, a new study suggests.
Patients with celiac disease were 24% more likely to use antibiotics than their healthy siblings or community members, researchers recently reported in the Journal. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
However, the odds of antibiotic use among the group of people with normal intestinal lining were even higher – 50% – when compared to the general population, the researchers said.
These results suggest that earlier studies linking celiac disease to antibiotics reflect a heightened awareness of the disease, in which the intestine becomes inflamed when a person eats gluten.
“We do not see a causal relationship between celiac disease and antibiotics,” said the lead researcher Dr. Maria UlnesPediatrician and doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
“Responsible antibiotic use is certainly important, but there is no reason to avoid antibiotics for fear of developing celiac disease,” Ulnes said in a news release.
For the study, researchers compared nearly 28,000 people with celiac disease to more than 133,000 matched controls and more than 33,000 siblings.
They also compared more than 225,000 people with healthy colons to more than 1 million others.
The results showed that a higher likelihood of antibiotic use did not affect the risk of celiac disease, given that people with a healthy gut were more likely to use antibiotics.
“It’s easy to think that celiac disease is the result of antibiotic exposure; however, the connections are much more complex,” Ulnes said.
“It is likely that factors such as susceptibility to infection and dietary habits contribute to the development of celiac disease, possibly by influencing the gut microbiota,” he said. “In this case, the appropriate use of antibiotics does not appear to be a risk in itself.”
More information
The Cleveland Clinic has more information celiac disease.
Sources: University of Gothenburg, news release, April 28, 2026; Clinical Gastroenterology and HepatologyApril 2026
What does this mean for you?
Antibiotic use is not associated with celiac disease risk, researchers say.
