Exposure to Bisphenol A and Bisphenol S and Incident Type 2 Diabetes: A Case-Cohort Study in the French Cohort D.E.S.I.R

Abstract

Background: The question of whether exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) contributes to the development of type 2 diabetes is still unresolved. Most epidemiological evidence on the association between BPA and diabetes is from cross-sectional studies or longitudinal studies with single urinary measurements. No prospective study has examined exposure to BPA analogs such as bisphenol S (BPS) in relation to incident type 2 diabetes.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate whether exposure to BPA and BPS, assessed at up to two time points, was associated with the incidence of type 2 diabetes.

Methods: We performed a case-cohort study on 755 participants without diabetes at baseline and followed-up over 9 y as part of the French prospective cohort Data from an Epidemiological Study on the Insulin Resistance Syndrome (D.E.S.I.R.). BPA-glucuronide (BPA-G) and BPS-glucuronide (BPS-G) were assessed in fasting spot urine samples collected during the health examinations at baseline and 3 y later. Associations with incident diabetes were examined using Prentice-weighted Cox regression models adjusted for potential confounders.

Results: A total of 201 incident cases of type 2 diabetes were diagnosed over the follow-up, including 30 in the subcohort. Compared with participants with the lowest average BPA exposure (below the first quartile), participants in the second, third, and fourth quartile groups of exposure had a near doubling of the risk of type 2 diabetes, with a hazard ratio $\left(\text{HR}\right)=$ 2.56 (95% CI: 1.16, 5.65), 2.35 (95% CI: 1.07, 5.15), and 1.56 (95% CI: 0.68, 3.55), respectively. The detection of BPS-G in urine at one or both time points was associated with incident diabetes, with an $\text{HR}=$ 2.81 (95% CI: 1.74, 4.53).

Discussion: This study shows positive associations between exposure to BPA and BPS and the incidence of type 2 diabetes, independent of traditional diabetes risk factors. Our results should be confirmed by recent, population-based observational studies in different populations and settings. Overall, these findings raise concerns about using BPS as a BPA substitute. Further research on BPA analogs is warranted. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5159.