Oral Presentation ESA-SRB Conference 2015

Prenatal exposure to the plasticizer bisphenol A (BPA) and adverse birth outcomes in human epidemiological studies (#95)

Bridget Maher 1 , Karin English 2 , Rosana Norman 3 , Peter Sly 2 , Peter Davies 4
  1. School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  2. Children's Health and Environment Program, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  3. Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  4. Children's Nutrition Research Centre, School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane

Background: Incidence rates of pre-term birth have increased over the past 2-3 decades. It is possible that exposure to chemical contaminants during pregnancy may play a role. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between prenatal exposure to the plasticizer bisphenol A (BPA) and adverse birth outcomes from human epidemiological studies.

Methods: Eligible studies were identified by systematic searchers of Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane and Toxline databases, until 15th May 2015. Longitudinal cohort, cross-sectional and case-control studies were included if they reported maternal serum or urine BPA concentration during pregnancy, as a marker of prenatal exposure. The primary outcome variables were (a) small for gestational age (≤ 10th percentile) and (b) preterm birth (≤ 37 weeks gestation). High vs low dose analyses were used calculate the pooled ORs, using the lowest BPA exposure category as the referent.

Nine studies published between 2010 and 2014 were included. Children with the highest prenatal levels of exposure to BPA had a pooled OR for SGA of 1.26 (95% CI 0.823 to 1.91, p = 0.284), compared to children with the lowest levels of exposure. However, on subgroup analysis, a significant association for SGA was seen in girls, (OR 2.65, 95% CI 1.24 to 5.73, p = 0.012); but not in boys. Children with the highest levels of prenatal BPA exposure had a pooled OR for pre-term birth of 1.37 (95% CI 0.96 to 1.84, p = 0.089), compared with children with the lowest levels of exposure.

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Conclusion: A significant positive association was seen between exposure to BPA in pregnancy and SGA in girls, but not in boys. A positive trend which approached significance was also seen between prenatal BPA exposure and pre-term birth. Further investigation of the potential consequences widespread BPA exposure during pregnancy is worth further investigation.