New research suggests prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), which is a chemical used in common household plastic products, could lead to diminished lung function in children.
Over the past three decades, asthma rates have significantly increased. These factors could be linked to pollutants, such as tobacco smoke and airborne pollutants, but this study suggests BPA exposure before birth may also be a significant influence, The JAMA Network Journals reported.
Researchers looked at how BPA exposure was associated with lung function by assessing expiratory volume with wheezing pattern and severity during the first five years of children's' lives. The research team looked at 398 mother-infant pairings. They collected maternal urine samples during 16 and 26 weeks of pregnancy, as well as child urine samples annually after birth.
The team determined for every 10-fold increase in maternal urine BPA concentration, there was a 14.2 percent decrease in the rate of forced expiratory volume in the first second of expiration (FEV1) at 4 years old; this association was not seen at the age of 5. Additionally, for every 10-fold increase in maternal BPA urine levels, there was a 54.8 percent increase in the odds of wheezing in offspring. A 10-fold increase in maternal urine concentrations at 16-weeks of maternity was associated with a 4.27-fold increase in the odds of persistent wheeze.
"We found that prenatal BPA exposure that occurred during early pregnancy was inconsistently associated with diminished lung function, increased odds of wheeze and a persistent wheeze phenotype in young children. ... If future studies confirm that prenatal BPA exposure may be a risk factor for impaired respiratory heath, it may offer another avenue to prevent the development of asthma," wrote Adam J. Spanier, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, and colleagues.
This study was supported by Flight Attendant Medical Research Foundation Young Clinical Scientist Award and from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
