Associations between Bisphenol A Exposure and Reproductive Hormones among Female Workers
by
Maohua Miao 1, Wei Yuan 2,*, Fen Yang 1, Hong Liang 1, Zhijun Zhou 2, Runsheng Li 1, Ersheng Gao 1 and De-Kun Li 3,4
Maohua Miao 1, Wei Yuan 2,*, Fen Yang 1, Hong Liang 1, Zhijun Zhou 2, Runsheng Li 1, Ersheng Gao 1 and De-Kun Li 3,4
1
Key Laboratory of Contraceptive Drugs and Devices of NPFPC, Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, WHO Collaborating Center for Research in Human Reproduction, Shanghai 200237, China
2
School of Public Health, Key Laboratory for Public Health Safety, WHO Collaborating Center for Occupational Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
3
Division of Research, Kaiser Foundation Research Institute, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, 2000 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612, USA
4
Department of Health Research and Policy, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Huixiao Hong
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12(10), 13240-13250; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph121013240
Received: 24 September 2015 / Revised: 15 October 2015 / Accepted: 16 October 2015 / Published: 22 October 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Endocrine Disruptors and Public Health)
The associations between Bisphenol-A (BPA) exposure and reproductive hormone levels among women are unclear. A cross-sectional study was conducted among female workers from BPA-exposed and unexposed factories in China. Women’s blood samples were collected for assay of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), 17β-Estradiol (E2), prolactin (PRL), and progesterone (PROG). Their urine samples were collected for BPA measurement. In the exposed group, time weighted average exposure to BPA for an 8-h shift (TWA8), a measure incorporating historic exposure level, was generated based on personal air sampling. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine linear associations between urine BPA concentration and reproductive hormones after controlling for potential confounders. A total of 106 exposed and 250 unexposed female workers were included in this study. A significant positive association between increased urine BPA concentration and higher PRL and PROG levels were observed. Similar associations were observed after the analysis was carried out separately among the exposed and unexposed workers. In addition, a positive association between urine BPA and E2 was observed among exposed workers with borderline significance, while a statistically significant inverse association between urine BPA and FSH was observed among unexposed group. The results suggest that BPA exposure may lead to alterations in female reproductive hormone levels.
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Keywords:
Bisphenol A; female hormones; endocrine disruptors
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Miao, M.; Yuan, W.; Yang, F.; Liang, H.; Zhou, Z.; Li, R.; Gao, E.; Li, D.-K. Associations between Bisphenol A Exposure and Reproductive Hormones among Female Workers. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12, 13240-13250.
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