Study Links Prenatal BPA Exposure to Infant Wheezing

A study presented at the 2011 Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in
Denver, Colorado, has evidently suggested an association between prenatal
bisphenol A (BPA) exposure and wheezing in childhood. According to a May
1, 2011, press release, researchers followed 367 pairs of mothers and infants,
measuring BPA levels in the urine of pregnant woman “at 16 and 26 weeks’
gestation as well as when they delivered their babies,” and asking mothers
“every six months for three years… whether their child wheezed.” Although
“99 percent of children were born to mothers who had detectable BPA in their
urine at some point during pregnancy,” those infants “whose mothers had
high levels of BPA during pregnancy were twice as likely to wheeze as babies
whose mothers had low levels of BPA.”

The researchers noted, however, that the association held true in the
youngest group of children only, with no differences in wheezing rates by age
three. The findings also indicated that “high BPA levels detected in women at
16 weeks’ gestation were associated with wheeze in their offspring, but high
levels at 26 weeks’ gestation and birth were not.” The study authors have thus
advocated further research “to determine if changes should be made in public
policy to reduce exposure to this chemical.” See Scientific American, May 3,
2011.