BPA found in cans and plastic containers linked to cardiovascular disease

January 13, 2010 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News

BPA, a chemical found in food cans and many plastic containers, has been linked to cardiovascular disease in adults.

New research out of the Peninsula Medical School and the University of Exeter, UK has reaffirmed a previously made link between BPA and cardiovascular disease in adults.

The team, led by Dr. David Melzer, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, examined urinary BPA concentrations and adverse health conditions in more than 1,400 adults. The researchers used date from the data from the U.S. government’s 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Their findings were consistent with a previous 2008 study using 2003-2004 NHANES data; those adults with the highest urinary levels of BPA were 33 percent more likely to develop heart disease than those with the lowest levels. The previous study found that 25 percent of those with the highest BPA levels were twice as likely to have heart disease or diabetes.

“This is only the second analysis of BPA in a large human population sample,” said Dr. Melzer. “It has allowed us to largely confirm our original analysis and exclude the possibility that our original findings were a statistical ‘blip’.”

Dr. Richard Stahlhut, a researcher at the Center for Reproductive Epidemiology at the University of Rochester in New York, told U.S. News and World Report: “It’s becoming a coherent picture that really does fit together. If these all connect, we really do have a problem.”

However, the study team noted that they didn’t fully understand how BPA was linked to conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“We now need to investigate what causes these health risk associations in more detail and to clarify whether they are caused by BPA itself or by some other factor linked to BPA exposure,” said coauthor Dr. Tamara Galloway.

“The risks associated with exposure to BPA may be small, but they are relevant to very large numbers of people. This information is important since it provides a great opportunity for intervention to reduce the risks.”

Additional research by British scientists has found compelling links between BPA and breast cancer as well as hormone imbalances.

A group of European scientists is expected to begin a campaign to have BPA banned from baby bottles this month. The U.S. state of Minnesota last year banned BPA from baby drinking containers, and at least five other states were considering a similar ban.