Girls given antibiotics during their first year of life, especially in the first three months, are more likely to enter puberty at an earlier age, according to new research.

The research, presented at the first Joint Congress between the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE), found that the likelihood of early puberty was also higher among those exposed to a greater variety of antibiotic classes.