Research Suggests BPA Association with Anxiety in Adolescents

A new study in which Wistar rats were exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) through drinking water from gestation through puberty purportedly shows that “behavioral impacts of BPA can manifest during adolescence, but wane in adulthood, and may be mitigated by diet.” Heather Patisaul, et al., “Anxiogenic Effects of Developmental Bisphenol A Exposure Are Associated with Gene Expression Changes in the Juvenile Rat Amygdala and Mitigated by Soy”, PLoS One, September 5, 2012. The rats were reared on a soy-based or soy-free diet, and the changes observed were associated only among those on the soy-free diet. The animals, which were found on assessment to have internal BPA doses “within a human-relevant range,” were assessed for anxiety-like and exploratory behavior after weaning but before puberty. According to the authors, “BPA induced anxiogenic behavior in juveniles and loss of sexual dimorphisms in adult exploratory behavior” in the soy-free animals.