Abstract
Although BPA use is widespread and often detectable in humans, little is known about its exposure levels and potential exposure predictors in pregnant women in China. We investigated the BPA exposure levels in pregnant women and its health implications and potential exposure predictors. Urinary BPA levels were measured for 506 pregnant women in northern China. Hazard quotients (HQs) based on estimated daily intakes (EDIs) were conducted. Sociodemographic characteristics and food consumption during pregnancy were collected and seasons of sample collection were recorded. The detection rate of urinary BPA was 86.6% and the median concentrations were 0.48 μg/L (1.05 μg/g creatinine). The EDI (median = 0.008 μg/kg bw/day) was much lower than the recommended tolerable daily doses and the HQ (median = 0.002) much lower than 1. The urine collected in summer had significantly higher BPA levels than that collected in other seasons (β = 0.225; 95% CI − 0.008, 0.458; p = 0.03). Women “always consuming shellfish” had significantly higher BPA levels than those “seldom consuming shellfish” (β = 0.341; 95% CI 0.022, 0.66; p = 0.04). The study found a wide exposure to BPA among pregnant women in this region, which might be associated with seasonal variation and shellfish consumption. Although the HQs suggested no obvious risk, further attention to the comprehensive exposure and potential determinants should be paid in view of its endocrine-disrupting potential.
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Funding
This study was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC1600500, 2016YFC1000203), the Interdisciplinary Program of Shanghai Jiaotong University (Youth Program YG2016QN69), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Key Program 81630085), and Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning (20144Y0102).
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The research was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Xinhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.
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Zhao, S., Wang, C., Pan, R. et al. Urinary bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations and exposure predictors among pregnant women in the Laizhou Wan Birth Cohort (LWBC), China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 19403–19410 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05062-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05062-9