Bisphenol A and Chronic Disease Risk Factors in US Children

Abstract

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Bisphenol A (BPA) is a known endocrine disruptor found in many products with which children come into contact. Although BPA in adults is associated with obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, little is known about its effects in children. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:This study found that higher BPA levels are associated with obesity and abnormal waist circumferenceto-height ratio in children. abstract OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between urinary bisphenol A (BPA) levels and measures of adiposity and chronic disease risk factors for a nationally representative US pediatric sample. METHODS:We used the NHANES 2003-2010 to evaluate cross-sectional associations between urinary BPA and multiple measures of adiposity, cholesterol, insulin, and glucose for children aged 6 to 18 years, adjusting for relevant covariates (eg, demographics, urine creatinine, tobacco exposure, and soda consumption). RESULTS:We found a higher odds of obesity (BMI $95th percentile) with increasing quartiles of BPA for quartiles 2 vs 1 (odds ratio [OR] 1.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17-2.60, P = .008), 3 vs 1 (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.09-2.47, P = .02), and 4 vs 1 (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.36-2.98, P = .001). We also found a higher odds of having an abnormal waist circumference-to-height ratio (quartiles 2 vs 1 [OR 1.37, 95% CI 0.98-1.93, P = .07], 3 vs 1 [OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.07-1.87, P = .02], and 4 vs 1 [OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.12-2.15, P = .01]). We did not find significant associations of BPA with any other chronic disease risk factors.CONCLUSIONS: Higher levels of urinary BPA were associated with a higher odds of obesity (BMI .95%) and abnormal waist circumference-to-height ratio. Longitudinal analyses are needed to elucidate temporal relationships between BPA exposure and the development of obesity and chronic disease risk factors in children. Pediatrics 2013;132:e637-e645 AUTHORS:

Urinary bisphenol A and obesity in adults: results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey

“…These findings are consistent with other large-scale cross-sectional studies of adults in the USA 11,12 and China, 13 as well as with studies in children. [30][31][32][33] Effect sizes in our study were slightly lower than those reported using the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 11 (OR [quartile 4 vs. 1] = 1.76) and were more similar with the study in Chinese adults 13 (OR [quartile 4 vs. 1] = 1.50). A possible explanation for the weaker associations, compared to US results, may be related to the substantially lower BPA concentrations in our study and the Chinese study.…”

Bisphenol A and the risk of cardiometabolic disorders: a systematic review with meta-analysis of the epidemiological evidence

“…Two cross-sectional studies reported the relation between uBPA and elevated fasting blood glucose, one in children [38], one in adults [34]; neither reported a significant association.…”

Using the Health Belief Model to Illustrate Factors That Influence Risk Assessment during Pregnancy and Implications for Prenatal Education about Endocrine Disruptors

“…Given that the plain nature of the diet was a barrier, we asked each woman a series of questions that proposed that eating a plain diet would reduce the risk of health outcomes that have been associated in the scientific literature with exposure to various EDCs. These included: incomplete masculinization of boy children (Swan et al, 2005;Marsee et al, 2006); obesity (Eng et al, 2013); asthma (Vaidya & Kulkarni, 2012); intelligence (Cho et al, 2010); behavior (Kim et al, 2009); fertility (Cantonwine et al, 2013); and birth weight (Philippat et al, 2012). The object was to determine what types of health outcomes would influence a woman to overcome a behavioral barrier.…”