BPA And Narrowed Arteries: New Study Links Plastics Chemical With Coronary Artery Stenosis

Bisphenol-A (BPA) -- the endocrine-disrupting chemical found in some linings of food cans and plastics, which has been linked in animal studies to cancer and fetal development problems -- is associated with narrowed arteries, a new study suggests.

August 15, 2012 | Source: The Huffington Post | by Amanda L. Chan

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Bisphenol-A (BPA) — the endocrine-disrupting chemical found in some linings of food cans and plastics, which has been linked in animal studies to cancer and fetal development problems — is associated with narrowed arteries, a new study suggests.

The chemical has already been banned from baby bottles and kids’ sippy cups. The FDA raised questions about its risks in 2010, even though it was deemed “safe” in 2008, the New York Times reported. (For the official concerns the FDA has about BPA, click here.)

The new PLoS ONE study, conducted by researchers from the University of Cambridge and University of Exeter, examined the association between severe coronary artery stenosis (the condition name for narrowed arteries) and BPA levels in the urine.

Researchers examined the urinary BPA levels and artery narrowing of 591 people who participated in the Metabonomics and Genomics Coronary Artery Disease in the United Kingdom. They found that 385 of the study participants had severe artery narrowing, 86 had “intermediate” artery narrowing and 120 didn’t have narrowed coronary arteries.

The researchers found an association between higher urinary BPA levels and increased risk for severe narrowing of the arteries.