Study Sheds Light On The Link Between Bisphenol A Exposure And Heart Disease

Study Sheds Light On The Link Between Bisphenol A Exposure And Heart Disease

One of the most used chemical compounds in the plastic industry is Bisphenol A or BPA. According to a prospective study conducted on a significant batch of people, higher urine concentration of bisphenol are seemingly linked to a greater risk of developing heart disease at some point in the future. Currently people are exposed to Bisphenol A mainly after consuming packaged food and bottled beverages but also by coming into contact with household dust or after dental procedures that imply the use of sealants.

BPA

This study was published online in the American Heart Association Circulation Journal and was undertook by several scientists from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry and European Centre for the Environment and Human Health in partnership with Cambridge University.

The above mentioned scientists had already been in possession of data showing a connection between BPA and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but were unable to asses the exact long-term effects of BPA exposure on health.

The newest study that breaks ground in the former mentioned field was conducted by the University of Cambridge using data from the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer in Norfolk, United Kingdom. In this study the 758 participants who developed one sort of cardiovascular disease although they had initially been healthy  were compared against 861 other people who continued to be healthy at the end of the study. The comparison showed that those in the first batch (the 758 participants) presented higher levels of urinary BPA at the start of the 10-year study. We have to point out that the relevance of this outcome is somehow questionable due to the fact that each study participant only had one urine sample tested at the onset of the study.

Study leader, Professor David Melzer stated that this particular study results cast light on an existing correlation between Bisphenol A and heart disease but its causative nature is not set in stone. At this point there is very little information about the exact effects and dynamics of BPA in humans and additional safety trials are required in order to asses its long-term effects.

We all know the major risk factors of heart disease like dyslipidemia, hypertension and cigarette smoke and it is very hard to say if BPA alone could be a one of them and even if so, to quantify the extent at which it causes heart disease would be nearly impossible.