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Bisphenol en zwangerschap*
Weer een studie die laat zien dat bisphenol A (BPA) blootstelling tijdens de zwangerschap niet goed is voor de nakomelingen. Zij lopen meer kans op gedrag en emotionele problemen. In de studie werden 244 moeders en hun driejarige kinderen onderzocht. Zowel bij moeder als kind werden bij de geboorte en na 1 en 3 jaar de waarden BPA in de urine vastgesteld, bij de moeder ook tijdens de zwangerschap en bij 85% van hen werd BPA aangetroffen. Bij de nakomelingen was dat bij 96%. Alleen de BPA waarden tijdens de zwangerschap bleken een maat te zijn voor de kans op gedrag en emotionele problemen bij de kinderen en nog het meest bij de vrouwelijke nakomelingen. Hoe hoger de BPA waarden van de moeder tijdens de zwangerschap hoe groter de kans op de problemen bij de kinderen.
BPA heeft hormoonachtige eigenschappen in het menselijke lichaam. BPA is een chemische stof die wordt gebruikt voor de productie van polycarbonaat, een transparante plastic die onder andere gebruikt wordt als drager van CD's en DVD's en voor onbreekbare flessen voor (baby)voeding, voor tafelbestek, en voorwerpen voor gebruik in microgolfovens. Het wordt ook gebruikt in epoxyharsen die als beschermende coating aan de binnenkant van voedingsverpakkingen in blik of karton worden aangebracht, of in leidingen en reservoirs voor drinkwater. Bisfenol A wordt ook gebruikt in vlamvertragende middelen, ook in tandvullingen en als oplosmiddel voor drukinkten. Het is bewezen dat BPA kan vrijkomen uit de verpakking en in de voeding terechtkomt.
Exposure to Chemical BPA Before Birth Linked to Behavioral, Emotional Difficulties in Girls
Exposure in the womb to bisphenol A (BPA) -- a chemical used to make plastic containers and other consumer goods -- is associated with behavior and emotional problems in young girls, according to a study led by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center, and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.
BPA is found in many consumer products, including canned food linings, polycarbonate plastics, dental sealants, and some receipts made from thermal paper. Most people living in industrialized nations are exposed to BPA. BPA has been shown to interfere with normal development in animals and has been linked with cardiovascular disease and diabetes in people. In a 2009 study, HSPH researchers showed that drinking from polycarbonate bottles increased the level of urinary BPA.
In this study, published in an advance online edition of Pediatrics, lead author Joe Braun, research fellow in environmental health at HSPH, and his colleagues found that gestational BPA exposure was associated with more behavioral problems at age 3, especially in girls.
The researchers collected data from 244 mothers and their 3-year-old children in the Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment Study, conducted in the Cincinnati area. Mothers provided three urine samples during pregnancy and at birth that were tested for BPA; their children were tested each year from ages 1 to 3. When the children were 3 years old, the mothers completed surveys about their children's behavior."None of the children had clinically abnormal behavior, but some children had more behavior problems than others. Thus, we examined the relationship between the mom's and children's BPA concentrations and the different behaviors," Braun said.
BPA was detected in over 85% of the urine samples from the mothers and over 96% of the children's urine samples. The researchers found that maternal BPA concentrations were similar between the first sample and birth. The children's BPA levels decreased from ages 1 to 3, but were higher and more variable than that of their mothers.
After adjusting for possible contributing factors, increasing gestational BPA concentrations were associated with more hyperactive, aggressive, anxious, and depressed behavior and poorer emotional control and inhibition in the girls. This relationship was not seen in the boys.
The study confirms two prior studies showing that exposure to BPA in the womb impacts child behavior, but is the first to show that in utero exposures are more important than exposures during childhood, Braun said. "Gestational, but not childhood BPA exposures, may impact neurobehavioral function, and girls appear to be more sensitive to BPA than boys," he said.
Although more research is needed to fully understand the health effects of BPA exposure, clinicians can advise those concerned to reduce their BPA exposure by avoiding canned and packaged foods, thermal paper sales receipts, and polycarbonate bottles with the number 7 recycling symbol, the authors wrote. Bruce Lanphear of Simon Fraser University was senior author of the study.
The study was funded in part by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  (November 2011) 

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