Urinary sexual steroids associated with bisphenol A (BPA) exposure in the early infant stage: Preliminary results from a Daishan birth cohort

Heng Wang; Liangpo Liu; Jianyue Wang; Zhendong Tong; Jianbo Yan; Tongjie Zhang; Ying Qin; Tingting Jiang; Jianwen She; Heqing Shen

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.257

Urinary sexual steroids associated with bisphenol A (BPA) exposure in the early infant stage: Preliminary results from a Daishan birth cohort

Sci Total Environ. 2017 Dec 1:601-602:1733-1742. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.257. Epub 2017 Jun 13.

Authors

Heng Wang¹, Liangpo Liu², Jianyue Wang³, Zhendong Tong³, Jianbo Yan³, Tongjie Zhang⁴, Ying Qin³, Tingting Jiang³, Jianwen She⁵, Heqing Shen⁶

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; Key Laboratory of Health Risk Factors for Seafood of Zhejiang Province, Zhoushan Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316021, China.
² Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Health Risk Factors for Seafood of Zhejiang Province, Zhoushan Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316021, China.
⁴ Gaoting Township Health Center, Daishan, Zhejiang 316200, China.
⁵ Biochemistry Section, Environmental Health Laboratory Branch, California Department of Public Health, CA 94804, USA.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. Electronic address: hqshen@iue.ac.cn.

PMID: 28628972
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.257

Abstract

Background: Many surveys have shown that older children are ubiquitously exposed to bisphenol A (BPA), and many laboratory studies have shown that BPA exposure has adverse effects related to estrogenic disruption, whereas the evidence in infants has not yet been observed.

Methods: Women in early pregnancy were recruited by the Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning Service Center, Daishan, China, from March 2012 to December 2014. After delivery, urine samples were collected from the diapers of 59 infants (0 to 6months of age). Urinary BPA, estradiol (E₂), testosterone (T), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and creatinine were analyzed. The partial correlation and multivariable linear regression were applied to assess the associations of BPA with E₂, T, FSH, and LH for each of the development stages: at birth, 14days, 28days, 42days, 3months, and 6months.

Results: For both genders from birth to 6months, infants showed randomly changed urinary BPA but regularly changed hormones, i.e., the monotonic decreasing E₂ and T, the "U" shaping E₂/T and upside down "U" shaping FSH and LH with extreme values at approximately the 14-day stage, respectively. However, the creatinine-adjusted FSH for all stages and E₂ from 6months were genders different. After adjustment for creatinine, gender, and infant body mass index, BPA was positively associated with E₂ both in male (for 14-, 28-, and 42-day stages) and female (for 14-, 28-, 42-day, and 3-month stages) infants; positively associated with E₂/T ratio in both male (for 14- and 28-day stages) and female (for 14-day stage) infants; and positively associated with T in female (for 3-month stage) infants.

Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that associations of BPA with E₂, E₂/T, and T in infant urine were observed. The results suggested that the infants first demonstrate a surge of steroids after leaving the maternal uterus's steroidogenic environment (i.e., mini-puberty) and may be affected by BPA; this pollution may disrupt the premature gonad function at some important developmental windows.

Keywords: Bisphenol A; E(2); E(2)/T ratio; FSH; Infants; LH; T; Urine.

MeSH terms

Benzhydryl Compounds / urine*
China
Creatinine / urine
Environmental Exposure / analysis*
Estradiol / urine*
Female
Follicle Stimulating Hormone / urine*
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Luteinizing Hormone / urine*
Male
Phenols / urine*
Pregnancy
Testosterone / urine*

Substances

Benzhydryl Compounds
Phenols
Testosterone
Estradiol
Luteinizing Hormone
Follicle Stimulating Hormone
Creatinine
bisphenol A