Exposure in the womb to BPA, a toxic chemical frequently found in food cans, reusable bottles, toys, and cash register receipts, may increase the risk of asthma and wheezing in school-age girls.
The threat occurs because BPA, or bisphenol A, is an endocrine disruptor that is capable of breaking through the placental barrier between exposed pregnant women and their fetuses. BPA is on the European Chemicals Agency’s list of substances of “very high concern” because it has previously been linked to learning disorders, ADHD, low birth weight, and fetal abnormalities. The conclusion that BPA also triggers respiratory illness in children was drawn by researchers at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health after they analyzed data from studies of more than 3,000 mother-child pairs from six European countries. The researchers found a significant association between BPA that was detected in mothers’ urine, and asthma and wheezing that developed in school-age girls. BPA was present in 90% of the urine samples tested.
“Our results are in line with those of earlier studies, which have also reported that bisphenol A has a negative impact on respiratory health in childhood,” explained Alicia Abellán, ISGlobal researcher and first author of the study. “We believe that the effect may be due to the fact that bisphenols can cross the placental barrier and interfere with the child’s respiratory and immune systems during the developmental phase.”
While the study showed that in utero BPA exposure can cause asthma to arise in girls, that same association did not exist for boys. ISGlobal researcher Maribel Casas speculates that this is because “bisphenols … can interfere with sex hormones … which may give rise to differences in the effects they have depending on the sex of the person exposed.”
“Sex hormones shape nearly every bodily function during fetal development,” Dr. Leonardo Trasande, director of environmental pediatrics at NYU Langone Health, told CNN. “When a baby is growing in utero, the lung buds are shaped by a host of factors of which sex hormones are one.” An imbalance of sex hormones caused by exposure from a synthetic hormone like BPA could explain why girls are more severely impacted than boys.
“BPA also contributes to inflammation and disrupts immune function. So there’s a number of patterns that could fit the story,” he added.
In 2012, the Food and Drug Administration banned the use of BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups, and in 2013, FDA banned its use in infant formula packaging. As yet, the agency has not banned BPA in other food products. BPA is frequently a compound in the linings of food cans or shopping receipts, for example.
What You Can Do
- Especially if you’re pregnant, take extra precautions to avoid BPA.
- Buy fresh rather than canned food.
- Choose food packaged in glass jars and bottles over cans.
- Buy cleaning supplies packaged in paper or cardboard, rather than in plastic bottles.
- Drink from glass or stainless steel rather than plastic, even if it’s a “reusable” plastic bottle.
- Avoid touching thermal store receipts. Most stores now will email you a receipt. Or have the cashier drop the receipt in your bag or an envelope you carry for that purpose.
- Support calls to get the Food and Drug Administration to ban BPA from food and drink packaging.
By the way, both glass and stainless steel are better than “BPA-free” plastic substitutes. As we previously reported here: “BPA-free” products may still contain similar bisphenol compounds called polyphenols that cause abnormal estrogenic activity. As much as possible, make your choices plastic-free, not only BPA-free.
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