Bisphenol A

How does it affect our health?

Last updated Thu 25 May 2017

By Christian Nordqvist

Reviewed by Suzanne Falck, MD, FACP

Woman drinking from hard plastic bottle.

Bisphenol A is found in the hard plastic bottles many people use every day.

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a chemical found in many hard plastics that we use every day. Higher doses have been linked to infertility and other health problems.

Products that contain BPA include water bottles, baby bottles, dental fillings and sealants, dental devices, medical devices, eyeglass lenses, DVDs and CDs, household electronic items, and sports equipment.

It can also be found in epoxy resins that are used to coat the inside of food and drinks cans.

Large amounts of BPA are produced each year. It leaches into food and water supplies, and humans are widely exposed to it.

Contents of this article:

Fast facts on bisphenol A, or BPA

Here are some key points about BPA. More detail is in the main article.

BPA is present all around us in the environment and in manufactured products.
Research has linked exposure to fertility problems, male impotence, heart diseaseand other conditions.
Some reports say that current levels of BPA are low and not a danger to humans.
Tips for avoiding exposure include breastfeeding infants and not buying food in plastic packaging.

Possible health hazards of BPA

BPA is an endocrine disruptor.

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It can imitate the body's hormones, and it can interfere with the production, secretion, transport, action, function, and elimination of natural hormones.

BPA can behave in a similar way to estrogen and other hormones in the human body.

Infants and young children are said to be especially sensitive to the effects of BPA.

Research suggests it can impact human health in various ways.

Reproductive disorders

In 2013, scientists from Brigham and Women's Hospital published findings showing that BPA exposure can affect egg maturation in humans.

A review of previous studies, published in 2015, found evidence that BPA can interfere with endocrine function involving the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland.

The researchers suggested that this type of action can affect puberty and ovulation, and that it may lead to infertility.

The authors add: "The detrimental effects on reproduction may be lifelong and transgenerational."

Male impotence may be affected, according to a study that looked at the effect of men's exposure to BPA at work. Findings indicated that high-level exposure may increase the risk of erectile dysfunction and problems with sexual desire and ejaculation.

Heart disease

Research has linked even low-dose BPA exposure to cardiovascular problems, including coronary artery heart disease, angina, heart attack, hypertension, and peripheral artery disease.

Findings suggest that this type of exposure could trigger arrhythmias, atherosclerosis, and blood pressure changes.

Type 2 diabetes and body weight

There is evidence that low-level exposure to BPA could contribute to insulin resistance and therefore diabetes type 2. Less reliable evidence indicates that it may also impact body weight.

Fetal brain development

Environmental exposure to BPA has the potential to affect the developing brain during gestation, according to research.

The impact includes changes in structural development, interference with estrogen regulation, DNA modifications. This could have effects on social behavior and anxiety after birth.

Breast and prostate cancer

Scientists believe BPA, with its estrogen-like behavior, could increase the risk of breast, prostate, and other cancers in people who were exposed to it in the womb.

In 2015, a group of researchers concluded that "Fetal exposure to BPA could lead to "long-lasting" effects on the carcinogenesis of certain organs," potentially leading to the development of hormone-related cancers.

Scientists have also found that BPA could interfere with the effectiveness of chemotherapy in breast cancer treatment.

Asthma

A systematic review published in 2016 found that exposure to BPA before birth increased the risk of wheezing and asthma, especially if it occurred during the second trimester.

Sources of exposure

Public authorities set BPA safety levels, but concerns remain about degrees of exposure.

Dental sealants can also contain Bisphenol A. Be sure to speak to a dentist before application of the sealant.

One study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found BPA in nearly allhuman urine samples, suggesting that exposure is widespread across the United States (U.S.).

The CDC note that people are commonly exposed to low levels of BPA when they consume food or water that has been stored in containers made with the chemical.

Children may also be exposed by touching items that are made with BPA and then putting their hands in their mouth, or by putting their mouth on the item.

Other means of exposure include:

having dental sealants that contain BPA
working in places that manufacture products with BPA in them
using harsh detergents, high-temperature liquids, or products that contain acidic liquids to clean containers

Thermal paper and carbonless paper may also contain varying levels of BPA, which gets onto the hands and fingers. Thermal paper is commonly used in movie theater tickets and labels.

BPA probably enters the system when the fingers are placed in the mouth, rather than through the skin.

A study of 77 Harvard College students found one week of drinking water from polycarbonate bottles increased the levels of BPA in by two-thirds. This suggests that regular consumption of water from such bottles significantly increases exposure to BPA.

BPA is used in infant's feeding bottles, so breast-feeding an infant is likely to reduce levels of BPA exposure.

How serious is the risk?

In August 2010, a report by the National Toxicology Program concluded that current levels of BPA raise:

some concern about the effect on the brain, on behavior, and on the prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children
minimal concern about the effect on the mammary gland and early puberty
negligible concern that BPA exposure will lead to fetal abnormalities, low birth weight, and reproductive problems

While these sources of potential exposure are recognized, a report about the hazards of BPA for the World Health Organization (WHO), points out that exposure rates in investigations tend to be higher than those estimated to exist in most environments.

The United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to support the use of BPA in current food packaging, because the amount that leaches into food is small.

How to avoid exposure

It is difficult to avoid BPA because it is so prevalent in the environment, but some tips can help to minimize exposure:

check for a BPA-free label on foods and packaging
buy and store foods in glass jars, not plastic
use fresh, frozen, or dried products, not canned
avoid microwaving foods in plastic containers
do not wash plastic containers in the dishwasher or use harsh detergents on them
choose wooden toys instead of plastic
breast feed infants as far as possible, instead of bottle feeding

One study has suggested that, after just 3 days of eating a fresh food diet with no products taken from a can or plastic packaging, the levels of BPA in participants' bodies fell significantly.