Study Links Plastics to Disease
Reported September 17, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — The same chemical thats been causing a lot of concern over its use in baby bottles is now being linked to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities in adults, according to a new study.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound that is commonly used in plastic packaging for food and beverage containers. The authors said since it is found in everything from dental sealants to water bottles, BPA is now detectable in more than 90 percent of the U.S. population.
The study, which is the first with BPA levels in a large population, explored normal levels of BPA exposure. The people involved in the survey had measured urinary BPA concentrations.
Those with the highest BPA concentrations were nearly three times as likely to have cardiovascular disease compared to those with lower levels. Also, adults with higher BPA concentrations had more than double the odds of having diabetes compared to participants with lower levels. Similar results were also associated with abnormal concentrations for three liver enzymes.
Given the substantial negative effects on adult health that may be associated with increased BPA concentrations and also given the potential for reducing human exposure, our findings deserve scientific follow-up, the authors concluded.
In an accompanying editorial, Frederick S. vom Saal, Ph.D., of the University of Missouri, Columbia, and John Peterson Myers, Ph.D., of Environmental Health Sciences, Charlottesville, Va., urged government action to reduce exposure to BPA, even before the scientific community confirms the findings of this study.
Decreasing exposure to BPA and developing alternatives to its use are the logical next steps to minimize risk to public health, they wrote.
SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2008;300:1303-1310, 1353-1355