Urinary BPA measurements in children and mothers from six European member states: Overall results and determinants of exposure

Abstract

For the first time in Europe, both European-wide and country-specific levels of urinary Bisphenol A (BPA) were obtained through a harmonized protocol for participant recruitment, sampling and quality controlled biomarker analysis in the frame of the twin projects COPHES and DEMOCOPHES. 674 child-mother pairs were recruited through schools or population registers from six European member states (Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden). Children (5-12 y) and mothers donated a urine sample. Information on socio-demographic characteristics, life style, dietary habits, and educational level of the parents was provided by mothers. After exclusion of urine samples with creatinine values below 300 mg/L or above 3000 mg/L, 653 children and 639 mothers remained for which BPA was measured. The geometric mean (with 95% confidence intervals) and 90th percentile were calculated for BPA separately in children and in mothers and were named "European reference values". After adjustment for confounders (age and creatinine), average exposure values in each country were compared with the mean of the "European reference values" by means of a weighted analysis of variance. Overall geometric means of all countries (95% CI) adjusted for urinary creatinine, age and gender were 2.04 (1.87-2.24) µg/L and 1.88 (1.71-2.07) µg/L for children (n=653) and mothers (n=639), respectively. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify significant environmental, geographical, personal or life style related determinants. Consumption of canned food and social class (represented by the highest educational level of the family) were the most important predictors for the urinary levels of BPA in mothers and children. The individual BPA levels in children were significantly correlated with the levels in their mothers (r=0.265, p<0.001), which may suggest a possible common environmental/dietary factor that influences the biomarker level in each pair. Exposure of the general European population was well below the current health-based guidance values and no participant had BPA values higher than the health-based guidance values.

Biomonitoring of Danish school children and mothers including biomarkers of PBDE and glyphosate

“…Children had higher concentrations of phthalates except Mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP) as also seen in DEMOCOPHES (2). Parabens and phenols were measured in higher concentrations in mothers compared to children, except BPA, which was also measured in higher concentration in children compared to mothers in the six DEMOCOPHES countries (7). Urine biomarkers of cadmium, cotinine, and paracetamol were significantly higher in mothers, while glyphosate was significantly higher in children.…”

“…These include phthalate metabolites, parabens, phenols and the analgesic paracetamol in the full study population and the pesticide glyphosate in a subgroup. In Denmark, and six other countries the study was expanded by including bisphenol A (BPA) measurements in the urine (7). The individual exposures to many of these chemicals have been reported previously (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14), but not the exposures to PBDEs -used as flame retardants -and glyphosate -a widely used herbicide.…”

Changes in urinary bisphenol A concentrations associated with placement of dental composite restorations in children and adolescents

“…Prior studies focused on the first 24–30 h after placement in adults. We focused on children and adolescents for multiple reasons, including (a) findings from the NECAT that children randomized to composites (vs. amalgam) and with higher numbers of composite restorations performed worse on certain neuropsychosocial outcome measures after 4–5 years follow-up; 30–33 (b) data from numerous countries that children and adolescents had higher urinary BPA concentrations compared to adults, with little understanding as to the exposure sources or metabolic differences that may account for age-related differences, 46–48 and (c) knowledge that dental restorations are most frequently placed at younger ages. 49 In the US, more than 60% of 5–19 year olds have dental caries or restorations present.…”

“…We assessed several sociodemographic, dietary and other factors as potential predictors of BPA concentration based on the published literature. 13,14,44–46 Potential predictors of BPA exposure considered as covariates in the models included: age, race/ethnicity, sex, body mass index, parent/guardian education, household income, presence of orthodontic dental materials, presence of dental sealants or composites at baseline, urine collection time, location of urine sample storage prior to processing, and consumption of canned food, foods microwaved in plastic, or foods and beverages in plastic containers within 24h of the urine sample. Participants missing data on a potential confounder were included using an indicator category for missing in that variable.…”

Prenatal bisphenol a exposure and dysregulation of infant hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function: findings from the APrON cohort study

“…BPA exposure in the Canadian population is likely well below the provisional TDIs established by the Food Directorate of Health Canada (25 μg/kg bw/day) [19, 28]. Based on data from Covaci and colleagues [15], where daily intake was calculated from BPA concentrations in spot urine samples of mothers, we estimate that the highest daily intake in the current sample ranges from 0.9 - 1.1 μg/kg bw/day. The fact that associations with infant HPA axis function can be detected even at exposure levels well below the most stringent (European) TDIs suggests that such exposures may play a role in shaping the development of the infant HPA axis.…”