🇺🇸 영어 원문
Medications can influence the community of microbes living in the human gut long after a person stops taking them, according to a large study led by researchers at the University of Tartu Institute of Genomics.
The findings suggest that a person’s prescription history may help explain differences in the gut microbiome years later. The gut microbiome includes the vast community of bacteria and other microorganisms that live in the digestive tract and can influence digestion, metabolism, immune function, and other aspects of health.
Researchers analyzed stool samples and prescription records from more than 2,500 participants in the Estonian Biobank who were part of the Estonian Microbiome cohort. They found that most of the medications examined were associated with differences in the gut microbiome.
For a substantial number of drugs, those differences could still be detected years after people had stopped taking the medication.
The lasting effects were not limited to antibiotics, which are already well known for their ability to disrupt populations of gut bacteria. Antidepressants, beta-blockers, proton pump inhibitors, and benzodiazepines were also associated with distinctive microbial "fingerprints."
Beta-blockers are commonly used to treat conditions such as high blood pressure and certain heart problems. Proton pump inhibitors reduce stomach acid and are often prescribed for acid reflux and related conditions. Benzodiazepines are medications commonly used for anxiety and other disorders.
"Most microbiome studies only consider current medications, but our results show that past drug use can be just as important as it is a surprisingly strong factor in explaining individual microbiome differences," said Dr. Oliver Aasmets, lead author.
The finding suggests that researchers studying connections between the microbiome and disease may need to look beyond the medications a person is currently taking. Drugs used months or even years earlier could still influence the microbial patterns seen in a stool sample.
One particularly striking finding involved benzodiazepines, which are commonly prescribed for anxiety. Their associations with the gut microbiome were comparable to those seen with broad-spectrum antibiotics.
Broad-spectrum antibiotics are designed to act against many different types of bacteria, which is why they can produce substantial changes in the gut microbial community.
The study also found that medications belonging to the same drug class did not necessarily affect the microbiome in the same way. Drugs that may be prescribed for similar conditions, such as diazepam and alprazolam, differed in how strongly they appeared to disrupt gut microbes.
That distinction could be important because medications are often grouped together in microbiome research based on their drug class. The new results suggest that individual drugs may need to be considered separately.
Researchers also examined follow-up stool samples from a smaller group of participants. These samples allowed them to observe what happened when people started or stopped certain medications.
Those changes were accompanied by predictable shifts in gut microbes, providing evidence that the medications themselves may be responsible for at least some of the observed differences.
Although the second time-point analysis involved a relatively small number of participants, researchers were able to confirm persistent effects linked to proton pump inhibitors.
🇰🇷 한국어 요약
이 기사는 청소년들도 이해하기 쉽게 살펴볼 수 있는 흥미로운 건강 과학 이야기입니다. 연구 결과, 우리가 복용했던 약은 약을 끊은 뒤에도 장에 사는 미생물 생태계, 즉 장내 미생물군집에 오래 영향을 줄 수 있다고 합니다. 보통은 항생제가 장내 세균을 바꾸는 것으로 잘 알려져 있지만, 이번 연구에서는 항우울제, 베타차단제, 프로톤 펌프 억제제, 벤조디아제핀 같은 흔한 약물들도 각자 다른 흔적을 남긴다고 밝혀졌어요. 연구진은 에스토니아 바이오뱅크에 참여한 2,500명 이상의 대변 샘플과 처방 기록을 분석했는데, 과거에 쓰던 약이 수년 뒤에도 장내 미생물 패턴의 차이를 설명하는 데 중요한 역할을 할 수 있다는 사실을 확인했습니다. 특히 불안 완화로 자주 쓰이는 벤조디아제핀의 영향은 광범위 항생제와 비슷할 정도로 컸어요. 같은 분류의 약이라도 개약물마다 영향이 다를 수 있어서, 앞으로의 연구에서는 지금 먹고 있는 약뿐 아니라 과거 처방 이력까지 함께 고려해야 할 수 있습니다. 이 내용은 장내 미생물이 소화, 대사, 면역 등 우리 건강과 연결되어 있음을 보여주는 좋은 과학 사례입니다.
🔑 핵심 단어 (Vocabulary)
- microbiome – 미생물군집, 특히 장내 미생물 생태계 – The gut microbiome includes the vast community of bacteria and other microorganisms that live in the digestive tract.
- prescription history – 처방 이력 – A person’s prescription history may help explain differences in the gut microbiome years later.
- digestive tract – 소화관 – The gut microbiome includes the vast community of bacteria and other microorganisms that live in the digestive tract.
- antibiotics – 항생제 – The lasting effects were not limited to antibiotics.
- antidepressants – 항우울제 – Antidepressants, beta-blockers, proton pump inhibitors, and benzodiazepines were also associated with distinctive microbial fingerprints.
- beta-blockers – 베타차단제 – Beta-blockers are commonly used to treat conditions such as high blood pressure and certain heart problems.
- proton pump inhibitors – 프로톤 펌프 억제제, 위산 분비를 줄이는 약 – Proton pump inhibitors reduce stomach acid and are often prescribed for acid reflux.
- benzodiazepines – 벤조디아제핀, 불안 완화 약물 – Benzodiazepines are medications commonly used for anxiety and other disorders.
- broad-spectrum antibiotics – 광범위 항생제 – Broad-spectrum antibiotics are designed to act against many different types of bacteria.
- drug class – 약물 계열, 약물 분류 – Medications belonging to the same drug class did not necessarily affect the microbiome in the same way.
🔗 원문 링크
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026-08-260824065605.htm