BPA Exposure Leads to Kidney and Heart Disease in Children

Exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), the controversial chemical used in plastic bottles and beverage cans, can put children at higher risks of heart and kidney disease, a new study says.

According to the background information provided in the study, previous studies have shown exposure to even low levels of the chemical intensifying oxidative stress and inflammation in children, further leading to protein albumin leak into the urine, thus increasing their risks of heart disease in adulthood.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on finding the health issues linked to the chemical, recently issued a ban on the chemical in baby bottles and sippy cups. However, the chemical is still used as an internal coating for aluminum cans.

"While our cross-sectional study cannot definitively confirm that BPA contributes to heart disease or kidney dysfunction in children, together with our previous study of BPA and obesity, this new data adds to already existing concerns about BPA as a contributor to cardiovascular risk in children and adolescents," co-lead author of the study Dr. Leonardo Trasande said in a news release. "It further supports the call to limit exposure of BPA in this country, especially in children. Removing it from aluminum cans is probably one of the best ways we can limit exposure. There are alternatives that manufacturers can use to line aluminum cans."

For the study, Trasande and colleagues looked at data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2009 and 2010. The data included details of about more than 700 children and teens aged between six and 19, and levels of chemical BPA and protein albumin in their urine.

Albumin is not normally found in urine as it cannot pass through the narrow spaces of the glomerular membrane of the kidney. The protein reaches the urine only when the membrane is damaged.

At the end of the current study, researchers found high levels of albumin in urine of children highly exposed to BPA. According to the authors, the presence of albumin in urine can put children at higher risks of heart disease later.

The results of the study have been published in the online issue of Nature's Kidney International.