Association between bisphenol A exposure and body mass index in Chinese school children: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundThere is increasing evidence suggesting that Bisphenol A (BPA), one of the highest volume chemicals produced worldwide, can interfere with the body’s natural weight control mechanisms to promote obesity. However, epidemiological studies for this are limited, especially for children.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the association between BPA exposure and body mass index (BMI) in school children. Three primary and three middle schools were randomly selected from 26 primary and 30 middle candidate schools in Changning District of Shanghai City in China. According to the BMI-based criteria by age and sex for screening of overweight or obese children, we randomly chose 20 obese, 10 overweight, and 30 normal weight children aged 8-15 years of age from each selected school. First morning urine was collected and total urine BPA concentrations were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to examine the association of urine BPA concentrations and daily intake estimates with BMI.ResultsBPA was detected in 84.9% of urine samples with a geometric mean of 0.45 ng/mL. The daily intake estimates ranged from 0.03 μg/day to 1.96 μg/day with a geometric mean of 0.37 μg/day. The average urine BPA concentrations and daily intake estimates were similar for boys and girls, but significantly higher in older children than younger ones, and showed an increasing trend with BMI. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that urine BPA concentrations were significantly associated with increasing BMI values in all subjects after adjustment for age and sex and the results were similar before and after corrected by urine specific gravity. When stratified by age or sex, the associations remained significant in females and in those 8-11 years of age before corrected by specific gravity. Similar results were shown for the association between BMI and daily intake estimates.ConclusionsThere is a possibility that BPA exposure increases BMI in school children. Given the cross-sectional nature of this study, longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm BPA exposure as a contributor to increased BMI in children.

Chemical and non-chemical stressors affecting childhood obesity: a systematic scoping review

“…Similar results were seen in other crosssectional studies where older children had higher BPA concentrations that correlated to an increased risk of being overweight/ obese, specifically in females. 142,143 A cross-sectional study examining NHANES data (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008) found that urinary BPA concentrations were significantly associated with obesity in children and adolescents after controlling for several cofactors. 6 Another study using the NHANES data reported that non-Hispanic white boys were more likely to be overweight/obese, independent of other major risk factors, as a result of exposure to BPA.…”

“…144 To support these associations, more research is needed using longitudinal studies to confirm the findings observed in the available cross-sectional studies. 6,[142][143][144] Phthalates are a group of man-made chemicals widely used in industrial and consumer product applications. 8,145,146 Exposure to phthalates can occur from food sources, plastic containers, flooring materials and wall coverings, medical devices, personal care products, lacquers, varnishes, and coatings.…”

Low dose effects of bisphenol A

“…[195][196][197][198][199][200][201][202][203][204][205][206][207][208][209][210] In several, increased urinary BPA concentration was associated with higher odds of increased body mass index, obesity, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes (Table S4). Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have also demonstrated associations between BPA exposure levels and coronary artery disease and peripheral arterial disease.…”

Adverse Effects of Bisphenol A on Male Reproductive Function

“…Humans are mainly exposed to BPA through food ingestion (Yamada et al 2002 ), and increasing evidence supports its association with impairment of male reproductive function, as well as other health problems and diseases; such diseases include diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer (Li et al 2010aSalian et al 2011 ;Batista et al 2012 ;Shankar and Teppala 2012 ;Lee et al 2012 ;Wang et al 2012a ). BPA acts primarily by mimicking the effect of estrogen hormones, modifying DNA methylation, and modulating enzyme activities in utero and in vivo, resulting in metabolic diseases, spermatogenesis defects, and/or infertility in males.…”