Editorial

The FDA is holding hearings today about the safety of BPA, just as a new study linking BPA to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities is being published in the September 17 issue of JAMA.

BPA is used in baby bottles, water bottles and many other common household products. It was banned from use in baby bottles in Canada earlier this year and pregnant women were warned to avoid food containers which are made with BPA, such as plastic lined tin cans.

"Widespread and continuous exposure to BPA, primarily through food but also through drinking water, dental sealants, dermal exposure, and inhalation of household dusts, is evident from the presence of detectable levels of BPA in more than 90 percent of the U.S. population," concludes the JAM study .

David Melzer, M.B., Ph.D., of Peninsula Medical School, Exeter, U.K., and colleagues investigated connects between urinary BPA concentrations and the health status of adults. Data was compiled from 1,455 adults, age 18 through 74 years, using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2004.

Using the the average BPA concentrations, adjusted for age and sex, findings showed that there is a 39 percent increase in odds of cardiovascular disease (angina, coronary heart disease, or heart attack combined) and diabetes.

"When dividing BPA concentrations into quartiles, participants in the highest BPA concentration quartile had nearly three times the odds of cardiovascular disease compared with those in the lowest quartile. Similarly, those in the highest BPA concentration quartile had 2.4 times the odds of diabetes compared with those in the lowest quartile."

"Using data representative of the adult U.S. population, we found that higher urinary concentrations of BPA were associated with an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and liver-enzyme abnormalities. These findings add to the evidence suggesting adverse effects of low-dose BPA in animals. Independent replication and follow-up studies are needed to confirm these findings and to provide evidence on whether the associations are causal," the authors conclude. "Given the substantial negative effects on adult health that may be associated with increased BPA concentrations and also given the potential for reducing human exposure, our findings deserve scientific follow-up."

The Study includes an accompanying editorial form Frederick S. vom Saal, Ph.D., of the University of Missouri, Columbia, and John Peterson Myers, Ph.D., of Environmental Health Sciences, Charlottesville, Va., who stated:

"Since worldwide BPA production has now reached approximately 7 billion pounds per year, eliminating direct exposures from its use in food and beverage containers will prove far easier than finding solutions for the massive worldwide contamination by this chemical due its to disposal in landfills and the dumping into aquatic ecosystems of myriad other products containing BPA, which Canada has already declared to be a major environmental contaminant."

"The good news is that government action to reduce exposures may offer an effective intervention for improving health and reducing the burden of some of the most consequential human health problems. Thus, even while awaiting confirmation of the findings of Lang et al, decreasing exposure to BPA and developing alternatives to its use are the logical next steps to minimize risk to public health."

Journal references:

1. Iain A. Lang; Tamara S. Galloway; Alan Scarlett; William E. Henley; Michael Depledge; Robert B. Wallace; David Melzer. Association of Urinary Bisphenol A Concentration With Medical Disorders and Laboratory Abnormalities in Adults. JAMA, 2008; 300 [11]:1303-1310 [link]
2. Frederick S. vom Saal; John Peterson Myers. Bisphenol A and Risk of Metabolic Disorders. JAMA, 2008; 300 [11]: 1353-1355 [link]

Adapted from materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals.

JAMA and Archives Journals (2008, September 16). Higher Urinary Levels Of Commonly Used Plastic Compound, BPA, Linked To Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 16, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/09/080916100942.htm

Link: http://www.familiesonlinemagazine.com/plog/index.php/c14/protecting_your_family_from_bisphenol_a

Bisphenol A Subcommittee of the Science Board to the Food and
Drug Administration; Notice of Meeting

FDA announced today that they are holding a public meeting of such experts – as a subcommittee of our Science Board - to discuss FDA’s draft assessment of the safety of BPA in items that touch food.

Date and Time: The meeting will be held on September 16, 2008, at 9
a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Location: Hilton Washington, WashingtonDC/Rockville Executive
Meeting Center, Plaza Ballroom, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD
20852.

Contact Person: Carlos Pe[ntilde]a, Office of Science and Health
Coordination, Office of the Commissioner (HF-33), Food and Drug
Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, (for express delivery, rm. 14B-08)
Rockville, MD 20857, 301-827-3340, or by e-mail:
Carlos.Pe[ntilde]a@fda.hhs.gov or FDA Advisory Committee Information
Line, 1-800-741-8138 (301-443-0572 in the Washington, DC area), code
3014512603. Please call the Information Line for up-to-date information
on this meeting.

FDA's draft assessment of BPA and FDA's
charge to the Subcommittee will be posted on or after August 15, 2008,
on FDA's Web site at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/acmenu.htm,
click on the year 2008 and scroll down to the appropriate advisory
committee link.

Procedure: Interested persons may present data, information, or
views, orally or in writing, on issues pending before the Subcommittee.
Written submissions may be made to the contact person on or before
September 12, 2008. Oral presentations from the public will be
scheduled between approximately 11 a.m. and 12 noon and between
approximately 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. on September 16, 2008. Those desiring
to make formal oral presentations should notify the contact person and
submit a brief statement of the general nature of the evidence or
arguments they wish to present, the names and addresses of proposed
participants, and an indication of the approximate time requested to
make their presentation on or before September 4, 2008.

Time allotted for each presentation may be limited. If the number of registrants
requesting to speak is greater than can be reasonably accommodated
during the scheduled open public hearing session, FDA may conduct a
lottery to determine the speakers for the scheduled open public hearing
session. The contact person will notify interested persons regarding
their request to speak by September 5, 2008.