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Prenatal BPA exposure linked to childhood obesity
Increased measures of obesity, including fat mass index, percent body fat and waist circumference, at age 7 years are apparent in children with prenatal exposure to bisphenol A, or BPA, according to study findings published in Environmental Perspectives.
“This study provides evidence that prenatal exposure to BPA may contribute to developmental origins of obesity as determined by measures of body fat in children as opposed to the traditional indicator of [BMI], which only considers height and weight,” Lori Hoepner, DrPH, an investigator at the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health and assistant professor in the department of environmental and occupational health sciences at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, said in a press release.
Hoepner and colleagues analyzed urine samples and child body composition from mother–child pairs from the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health study from pregnancy through early childhood to determine the links between prenatal and early childhood BPA exposure and childhood measures of adiposity. Spot urine samples were measured for BPA concentrations in the prenatal period (n = 375) and children aged 3 years (n = 408) and 5 years (n = 518). Outcomes included BMI z scores at ages 5 and 7 years and fat mass index, percent body fat and waist circumference at age 7 years.
Birth weight, BMI z score at age 5 or 7 years and change in BMI z score at age 5 or 7 years were not linked to prenatal BPA concentrations. A positive association existed between prenatal concentrations and fat mass index (P = .04), percent body fat (P = .04) and waist circumference (P = .01) at age 7 years.
Regardless of height as a covariate, prenatal BPA concentrations were positively linked to fat mass (adjusting for height, P = .02; without adjustment for height, P = .03). There was no link between height and prenatal BPA concentrations. At age 7 years, there was a link between prenatal concentrations and fat mass index and waist circumference in girls, but not in boys.
Change in BMI z score from age 5 to 7 years was borderline negatively associated with child BPA concentrations (P = .06). There was not link between child BPA concentrations and fat mass index, percent body fat or waist circumference.
“The evidence that prenatal BPA exposure is associated with measures of obesity in children may be an important underlying factor in the obesity epidemic,” study researcher Andrew Rundle, DrPH, associate professor of epidemiology and co-director of the Obesity Prevention Initiative at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, said in the release. “Endocrine-disrupting chemicals like BPA may alter the baby’s metabolism and how fat cells are formed early in life.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.