Bisphenol A and Adult Disease: Making Sense of Fragmentary Data and Competing Inferences
Authors: David Melzer, Tamara Galloway
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2011)

Editorials20 September 2011Bisphenol A and Adult Disease: Making Sense of Fragmentary Data and Competing InferencesDavid Melzer, MB, PhD and Tamara Galloway, BSc, PhDDavid Melzer, MB, PhDFrom Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter, Exeter EX2 5DW, United Kingdom, and College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4PS, United Kingdom. and Tamara Galloway, BSc, PhDFrom Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter, Exeter EX2 5DW, United Kingdom, and College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4PS, United Kingdom.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-155-6-201109200-00009 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Bisphenol A (BPA) is an environmental estrogen, but with a chemical structure unlike that of natural estrogens. It is used in common forms of plastic and resin-lined containers and is one of a group of environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Most BPA exposure occurs when people eat or drink BPA-contaminated food and beverages (1). Despite its short estimated half-life, biomonitoring studies in the United States suggest that repeated ingestion results in sustained exposure. In urinary BPA (uBPA) assays performed on a subsample of the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) 2003–2004 study (2), more than 90% of the U.S. population had ...References1. Lakind JS, Naiman DQ. Daily intake of bisphenol A and potential sources of exposure: 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2011;21:272-9. [PMID: 20237498] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Calafat AM, Ye X, Wong LY, Reidy JA, Needham LL. Exposure of the U.S. population to bisphenol A and 4-tertiary-octylphenol: 2003-2004. Environ Health Perspect. 2008;116:39-44. 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Scientific opinion on bisphenol A: evaluation of a study investigating its neurodevelopmental toxicity, review of recent scientific literature on its toxicity and advice on the Danish risk assessment of bisphenol A. EFSA Journal. 2010;8:116. Google Scholar19. Ning G, Bi Y, Wang T, Xu M, Xu Y, Huang Y, et al. Relationship of urinary bisphenol A concentration to risk for prevalent type 2 diabetes in Chinese adults. A cross-sectional analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2011;155:368-74. LinkGoogle Scholar20. He Y, Miao M, Herrinton LJ, Wu C, Yuan W, Zhou Z, et al. Bisphenol A levels in blood and urine in a Chinese population and the personal factors affecting the levels. Environ Res. 2009;109:629-33. [PMID: 19426969] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter, Exeter EX2 5DW, United Kingdom, and College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4PS, United Kingdom.Grant Support: Drs. Melzer and Galloway's work on bisphenol A has been supported by unrestricted funds from the Peninsula Clinical Research Facility at the University of Exeter and by grant funding from the British Heart Foundation.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M11-1803.Corresponding Author: David Melzer, MB, PhD, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter, Barrack Road, Exeter EX2 5DW, United Kingdom; e-mail, david.[email protected]ac.uk.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Melzer: Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter, Barrack Road, Exeter EX2 5DW, United Kingdom.Dr. Galloway: College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter EX4 4PS, United Kingdom. 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