Common medications may secretly rewire your gut for years

Drugs taken years—even decades—ago can leave lasting imprints on the gut microbiome, reshaping the community of microbes long after treatment stops. Scientists analyzing over 2,500 Estonian Biobank samples discovered that antibiotics aren’t the only culprits—antidepressants, beta-blockers, and anxiety medications also disrupt gut ecosystems. Some drugs from the same class even have different microbial effects.