This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
NHANES: BPA linked to endothelial dysfunction in US children
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Recent findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey suggest that endothelial dysfunction is another adverse effect of bisphenol A, a chemical used to manufacture polycarbonate resin. The chemical has been labeled an endocrine disruptor by The Endocrine Society and the topic of several investigations in recent literature.
“While our cross-sectional study cannot definitively confirm that [bisphenol A] contributes to heart disease or kidney dysfunction in children, together with our previous study of BPA and obesity, this new data adds to already existing concerns about BPA as a contributor to cardiovascular risk in children and adolescents,” researcher Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP, of NYU School of Medicine and NYU Langone Medical Center, said in a press release. “It further supports the call to limit exposure to [bisphenol A] in this country, especially in children. Removing it from aluminum cans is probably one of the best ways we can limit exposure. There are alternatives that manufactures can use to line aluminum cans.”
Trasande and colleagues examined data from 710 children in the 2009-20120 NHANES with urinary bisphenol A (BPA) measurements and first morning urine samples with creatinine values.
According to data, patients with the highest quartile of urinary BPA compared with the lowest quartile of urinary BPA demonstrated a significant 0.91-mg/g higher albumin-to-creatinine ratio. Additional data indicate that for each log unit increase in urinary BPA when the multivariable model was delivered in place of continuous measures, researchers saw a significant 0.28-mg/g albumin-to-creatinine ratio increase.
Trasande and colleagues suggest that an association exists between BPA exposure and low-grade albuminuria, consistent with previous findings. They conclude that further research is necessary to examine potential cardiovascular disease related to environmental chemicals.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Perspective
Back to Top
Howard M. Snyder III, MD
As a pediatric urologist, I have a major interest in undescended testes and hypospadias (a deformity in the formation of the urethra). Both conditions are related to the male androgen function. Anything that interferes with normal function has the ability to increase these conditions.
In the last 50 years, there has been a substantial increase in the incidence of undescended testes and hypospadias. There has also been a decline in adult male fertility and an increase in testis cancer. All these changes may be related to interference with normal androgen function. Man-made chemicals such as BPA have been shown to have an estrogenic anti-androgenic effect, particularly important during childhood.
This important article adds to the harmful effects in children of BPA. The message is becoming clear for mothers and expectant mothers — “Lose the plastic and go back to glass and metal for food and liquids.” Clearly the FDA must act.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts