Study Alleges BPA Linked to Increased Risk of Kidney Disease

A recent study has reportedly concluded that bisphenol A (BPA) exposure is
associated with low-grade albuminuria in U.S. children, suggesting they may
be at a greater risk for kidney and heart disease as adults. Leonardo Trasande,
et al., “Bisphenol A exposure is associated with low-grade urinary albumin
excretion in children of the United States,” Kidney International, January 2013.

Using data from 710 children enrolled in the 2009-10 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers reported that those “with the highest as compared to the lowest quartile of urinary BPA [uBPA] had a significant 0.91 mg/g higher albumin-to-creatinine ratio, adjusted for urinary BPA concentration.” These results were evidently consistent with previous studies associating BPA exposure with low-grade albuminuria in Chinese adults.

“Long-term observational studies will be needed to ascertain whether uBPA-associated changes in low-grade albuminuria potentiate the features of the metabolic syndrome—hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or insulin resistance— and augment the risk of developing glomerular disease,” conclude the study’s authors. “Future studies of the relationship between uBPA and markers of vascular function such as pulse wave velocity and carotid intima media thickness in children would lend support to our suggestion that BPA promotes generalized endothelial dysfunction.”