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Bisphenol A concentrations in maternal breast milk and infant urine

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International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The present report describes the distribution of breast milk and urinary free and total bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations, from 27 postpartum women and their 31 infants, and explores the influence of age, sex, and nutritional source on infant BPA urinary concentration.

Methods

Both free (unconjugated) and total (free plus conjugated) BPA concentrations from women’s breast milk samples and infants’ urine samples were measured by online solid-phase extraction coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography–isotope dilution tandem mass spectrometry. Descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests of group comparisons were conducted.

Results

Total BPA was detected in 93 % of urine samples in this healthy infant population aged 3–15 months who were without known environmental exposure to BPA [interquartile range (IQR) = 1.2–4.4 μg/L)]. Similarly, 75 % of the mothers’ breast milk samples had detectable concentrations of total BPA (IQR = 0.4–1.4 μg/L). The magnitude and frequency of detection of free BPA in the children’s urine and the mothers’ breast milk were much lower than the total concentrations.

Conclusions

Total BPA was detected in 93 % of this healthy infant population aged 3–15 months who are without known environmental exposure to BPA. Neither free nor total BPA urinary concentrations differed significantly by infant’s sex or by nutritional source (breast milk and/or formula) while age group was of borderline significance. There were no significant correlations between free or total BPA concentrations in mothers’ breast milk and their infants’ urine.

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Abbreviations

BPA:

Bisphenol A

CDC:

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

GM:

Geometric mean

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

LOD:

Limit of detection

MGH:

Massachusetts General Hospital

HSPH:

Harvard School of Public Health

MS/MS:

Tandem mass spectrometry

NTP:

National Toxicology Program

QC:

Quality control

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Acknowledgments

Jennifer Ford RN, BSN (Harvard School of Public Health). Dr. Elizabeth Hait, MD (Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA). Xiaoyun Ye, Xiaoliu Zhou, Tao Jia, and Amber Bishop (CDC) for the measurements of BPA. The biospecimen analyses were funded under the Government of Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan. Kaitlin Mendonca was supported by training grant Harvard School of Public Health- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (HSPH-NIEHS) Pilot Grant #P30ES000002.

Conflict of interest

IRB approval was obtained from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Health Canada, and Simmons College. Funding sources had no role in study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of data or in the decision of whether to publish the results. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the CDC. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nursing Programs, School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, Science Building, Room 314, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    K. Mendonca & S. M. Duty

  2. Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    R. Hauser

  3. National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, Atlanta, GA, 30341, USA

    A. M. Calafat

  4. Population Studies Division, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch Health Canada, 50 Colombine Drive, AL 0801A, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0K9, Canada

    T. E. Arbuckle

Authors
  1. K. Mendonca
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  2. R. Hauser
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  3. A. M. Calafat
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  4. T. E. Arbuckle
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  5. S. M. Duty
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. M. Duty.

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Mendonca, K., Hauser, R., Calafat, A.M. et al. Bisphenol A concentrations in maternal breast milk and infant urine. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 87, 13–20 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-012-0834-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-012-0834-9

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