Significant exposure to BPA increased risk for miscarriage by 80%

Women with high levels of conjugated bisphenol A levels had an 80% increased risk for miscarriage compared with women who demonstrated lower levels, according to data presented during a teleconference ahead of the conjoint meeting of the International Federation of Fertility Societies and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

“Fifteen percent to 20% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, and it is estimated that approximately one-third of women will experience at least one miscarriage in their lifetime. These numbers are increasing with maternal age,” Ruth Lathi, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology — reproductive endocrinology and infertility — at Stanford University Medical Center, said during a teleconference. “… Although bisphenol A (BPA) exposure has been linked to a variety of reproductive and health effects, the level of human exposure which is safe is continually debated.”

Lathi and colleagues collected serum data from 114 women who were considered to be in the early pregnancy stage.

They found that the median conjugated BPA serum concentration was higher among patients who experienced a miscarriage compared with those who had live births (0.1005 ng/mL vs. 0.0753 ng/mL, P=.014), according to abstract data.

In addition, patients with the highest quartile of serum conjugated BPA levels demonstrated a greater risk for miscarriage (RR=1.83; 95% CI, 1.14-2.96), compared with women who demonstrated the lowest levels.

There was an increase in risk for aneuploid miscarriages during the second (RR=1.18; 95% CI, 0.57-2.45), third (RR=16.3; 95% CI, 0.86-3.09) and fourth quartiles (RR=1.97; 95% CI, 1.08-3.59).

Similar risks were increased for euploid miscarriage in the second (RR=2.11; 95% CI, 0.61-7.24), third (RR=2.5; 95% CI, 0.74-8.47) and fourth quartile (RR=3.33; 95% CI, 1.04-10.71), according to abstract data.

“This indicates that BPA may be acting through multiple mechanisms in early pregnancy. This study is important because it justifies further research on BPA and pregnancy outcomes,” Lathi said.

Patients were not given any special instructions on BPA ingestion or avoidance, and there are no studies currently examining the effect of reducing exposures on specific health outcomes, she said.

“However, until further studies are performed, women with unexplained miscarriages may choose to avoid BPA exposure in an effort to remove one potential risk factor,” Lathi said.

For more information:

Lathi RB. Abstract O-61. Presented at: the Conjoint Meeting of the International Federation of Fertility Societies and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine 69th Annual Meeting; Oct. 12-17, 2013; Boston.

Lathi RB. Fertil Steril. 2013;doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2013.07.183.

Disclosure: This study was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant ES018764.