Resolutions are a firm favourite for some people at this time of year. If you have made any of the more common New Year’s Resolutions, here’s how the recent AMR evidence stacks up:

1. Going vegan/veggie for January (or forever)

Reducing the consumption of meat, dairy, and eggs is a common January goal for many. While going vegan or vegetarian can have many positive effects, including reducing one’s carbon footprint, one November 2018 paper attempted to disaggregate the impact of one’s choice of diet on the frequencies of four antibiotic resistant genes in faecal samples. After analysing samples from omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans, it was found that vegans carried the lowest total load of investigated antibiotic resistant genes.  However the results were not conclusive, and there were several important limitations in this study, including sample size. Read more here.
 
2. Lose weight

 You may recall seeing stories in the news about antibiotic use being associated with weight gain or obesity due to changes in the microbiome. Most of the studies that gained traction were undertaken in murine models.  (read a recent review about this here) But in Jan 2019, the results from a seven-year cohort study found that, in over 333,000 children, antibiotics in in the first 2 years of life are associated with a diagnosis of childhood obesity(Hazard Ratio 1.25, 95% CI 1.23-1.28) This association strengthened with each additional class of antibiotics to which children were exposed.  The authors point out that identifying modifiable risk factors for obesity is an important first step towards reducing the incidence of the epidemic. Read more here.

3. Give up smoking

Of course, if you smoke, you are at increased risk of lung/oral/oesophageal cancers, and many other serious, life-limiting diseases.  But did you know that, alongside increases in the risk of respiratory illness and number of antibiotic prescriptions, cigarette smoke may also increase the risk of microbial virulence and antibiotic resistance? In fact, one systematic review published in 2018 found that tobacco smoking is an independent risk factor for drug-resistant tuberculosis. Get up-to-date on  the mechanisms of action of this interaction here and learn more here.

That’s all for this week!  We are gearing up for a jam-packed year ahead, with talks, grants, and opportunities to get involved in AMR research at LSHTM.  Read on to find out how you can get involved in the Centre.