A new study published today in the peer-reviewed Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found postnatal urinary bisphenol A (uBPA) levels to be positively associated with wheezing and asthma in children, but not prenatal exposures (Donohue et al.2013). The Researchers from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, US analyzed data from 568 mother-and-child pairs of the New Yorker prospective birth cohort “Mothers & Newborns study of environmental exposures”. Urine samples were taken to determine BPA exposure. Maternal uBPA was determined in the third trimester of pregnancy. 90% of children were found to have detectable levels of BPA in their urine. Children’s asthma status was determined between age 5 and 12 based on asthma symptoms, a pulmonary function test, and medical history. To determine wheezing status, mothers were asked to fill out a validated questionnaire. Increased levels of uBPA at ages 3, 5 and 7 could be associated with increased odds of developing asthma between 5 and 12. The increased risk was already observed at low levels of exposures.
The results of this study contradict findings of an earlier study finding an association between increased maternal uBPA in the third trimester and higher risk for asthma in children (Spanier et al. 2012).
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Reference
Donohue, KM et al. (2013). “Prenatal and postnatal bisphenol A exposure and asthma development among inner-city children.” The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 131, 3, 736-742.e6
