BPA Exposure Associated with Coronary Artery Disease

U.K. researchers have allegedly identified raised urinary bisphenol A (uBPA)
concentrations in 591 study participants “with intermediate or severe
stenoses compared to those graded as having no coronary artery disease
[CAD],” suggesting that “associations between uBPA and CAD may be specific
to coronary artery stenosis.” David Melzer, et al., “Urinary Bisphenol A
Concentration and Angiography-Defined Coronary Artery Stenosis,”
PLoS One, August 2012. According to the authors, their results apparently
supported the associations between uBPA and CAD reported in three
previous studies but “effectively ruled out reverse causation, strengthening
the evidence for causal inference.”

“The mechanism by which BPA ingestion and metabolism influences vascular
function and risk of cardiovascular disease has not been elaborated… We
recently suggested plausible mechanisms by which BPA might increase the
risk of cardiovascular disease, including reduced nitric oxide bioavailability,
altered vascular reactivity to endothelin-1, oxidative stress and inflammation,”
concluded the researchers, who recommended further work to determine the
underlying relationship between BPA and CAD. “In our relatively small sample
of patients investigated for ischemic heart disease referred for coronary
angiography, BPA exposure… was higher in those with severe coronary artery
stenoses compared to those with no vessel disease. Larger studies are needed
to estimate true dose response relationships.”