Study: Exposure to Plastics Chemical Elevates Health Risks

The first large study of humans exposed to a chemical widely used in everyday plastics has found that people with higher levels of bisphenol A had higher rates of heart disease, diabetes and liver abnormalities. The research, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association by a team of British and American scientists, compared the health status of 1,455 men and women with the level of the chemical, also known as BPA, in their urine. The researchers divided the subjects into four groups according to their BPA levels and found that those in the quartile with the highest concentrations were nearly three times more likely to have cardiovascular disease than those with the lowest levels, and 2.4 times more likely to have diabetes. Higher BPA levels were also associated with abnormal concentrations of three liver enzymes.

Data on the health status on the study subjects, who ranged in age from 18 to 74 years, were drawn from a large federal database, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, for 2003-2004. The BPA exposure levels in the study were below those deemed safe by the federal government, adding to a growing body of studies in animals that have linked low-level BPA exposure to various disorders. "Higher urinary concentrations of BPA were associated with an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities," wrote the researchers, led by David Melzer of Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, England. "These findings add to the evidence suggesting adverse effects of low-dose BPA in animals."

The researchers acknowledge the limitations of their work and stressed that follow-up studies are needed to confirm their work and to determine whether BPA caused the observed health problems. The findings are certain to create a stir today when the Food and Drug Administration holds a public hearing in Rockville to discuss whether BPA is safe for continued use in food packaging and liquid containers. "With human evidence, it will be really difficult for manufacturers to say we really don't think there's any problem," said David Michaels, an epidemiologist who teaches environmental health policy at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.