Study Examines BPA and Chronic Disease Risk Factors in Children

A recent study has reportedly claimed that higher levels of urinary bisphenol
A (BPA) “were associated with a higher odds of obesity … and abnormal waist
circumference-to-height ratio” in children. Donna Eng, et al., “Bisphenol A
and Chronic Disease Risk Factors in US Children, Pediatrics, September 2013.
Using data from 3,000 children ages 6 to 18 who were enrolled in the National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2010, University of Michigan
researchers evidently sought to evaluate cross-sectional associations between
urinary BPA “and multiple measures of adiposity, cholesterol, insulin, and
glucose.”

The results suggested that although urinary BPA was associated with an
increased risk of obesity, “there were no associations found between BPA
and laboratory measures of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk,” an
outcome that apparently contrasted with previous adult studies. “Our findings
suggest the need for longitudinal analysis to elucidate temporal relationships
between BPA exposure and the development of obesity and chronic disease
risk factors in children, to inform future policy regulating children’s consumer
products,” concludes the study.