Low levels can affect the fetus – Uppsala

This conclusion draws researchers from Uppsala University in a study on rats, which is published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

– Although we don’t know what these changes mean for long-term animal health, it should be noted that we may have some biological effects of bisphenol A doses that are well below the limit value, says Linda Dunder, a PhD student in the Department of Science. Medical.

In the study, female rats received during pregnancy and feeding when puppies were born to drink water with either level of bisphenol A, BPA, or water without the addition of this chemical.

In one case, the amount of BPA that the females received from the water was on par with the previous limit value of the European Food Authority for the maximum tolerable daily intake of this chemical, in the other case, it was even well below a new strongly reduced preliminary limit value for bisphenol A.

When rat pups were later examined with, among other things, blood and tissue samples, it was found that both levels of BPA had affected them, although slightly differently for the male and the honey, respectively.

Compared to young children whose mothers drank plain water, men exposed to the lowest amount of BPA raised blood triglyceride levels and in women gave the same low content to a substantial increase in anti-fat cells. ovary.

Some of the so-called epidemiological studies have shown a link between BPA and obesity in humans, but such studies generally cannot establish a causal relationship.

When the rat pups in the new study were five weeks old, there were no apparent differences in body weight between male or female chicks in any of the three groups.

– To answer the BPA question during fetal period and development can cause obesity, studies that follow animals beyond adulthood are needed. However, many other studies in rats and mice show that exposure to BPA during development results in weight gain later in life, says Linda Dunder.

Efsa’s preliminary proposal for the maximum tolerable daily intake of BPA is four micrograms per kilogram of body weight, eight times more than the lowest dose to which rats are exposed.

– We and many other researchers have concluded that low doses of BPA can interfere with hormonal systems during sensitive developmental periods and that the current limit values ​​are not protective enough. Perhaps it is even possible that adequate limit values ​​cannot be established for hormone-altering substances, says Linda Dunder.