Exposure to a chemical once used widely in plastic bottles and still found in aluminum cans appears to be associated with a biomarker for higher risk of heart and kidney disease in children and adolescents, according to an analysis of national survey data by NYU School of Medicine researchers published in the January 9, 2013, online issue of Kidney International.
Laboratory studies suggest that even low levels of bisphenol A (BPA) like the ones identified in this national survey of children and adolescents increase oxidative stress and inflammation that promotes protein leakage into the urine, a biomarker for early renal impairment and future risk of developing coronary heart disease, according to Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP, associate professor of pediatrics, environmental medicine and population health, and co-lead of the study.
FDA recently banned BPA, but the substance is still used as an internal coating for aluminum cans. Manufacturers say the chemical provides an antiseptic function. Studies have shown the chemical disrupts multiple mechanisms of human metabolism. Surveys have shown that by age six nearly 92% of children have some trace of BPA in their urine.
The European Union, Canada and the U.S. banned BPA from use in baby bottles and sippy cups.
