Bisphenol A concentrations in maternal breast milk and infant urine

Abstract

Purpose The present report describes the distribution of breast milk and urinary free and total bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations, from 27 post-partum women and their 31 infants, and explores the influence of age, sex, and nutritional source on infant BPA urinary concentration. Methods Both free (unconjugated) and total (free plus conjugated) BPA concentrations from women’s breast milk samples and infants’ urine samples were measured by online solid-phase extraction coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography–isotope dilution tandem mass spectrometry. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests of group comparisons were conducted. Results Total BPA was detected in 93% of urine samples in this healthy infant population aged 3–15 months who were without known environmental exposure to BPA (interquartile range [IQR]=1.2 – 4.4 μg/L). Similarly, 75% of the mothers’ breast milk samples had detectable concentrations of total BPA (IQR=0.4 – 1.4 μg/L). The magnitude and frequency of detection of free BPA in the children’s urine and the mothers’ breast milk were much lower than the total concentrations. Conclusions Total BPA was detected in 93% of this healthy infant population aged 3–15 months who are without known environmental exposure to BPA. Neither free nor total BPA urinary concentrations differed significantly by infant’s sex or by nutritional source (breast milk and/or formula) while age group was of borderline significance. There were no significant correlations between free or total BPA concentrations in mothers’ breast milk and their infants’ urine.

Infant Exposure to Bisphenol A Can Be Quantitatively Assessed by a Simply Improved High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass-Spectrometry Method

“…These results indicated that our method is more sensitive than those previously reported, which measured BPA without any derivation process. 9,18,[32][33][34] The recoveries (%) for BPA at three spiked levels (0.50, 1.0, 10.0 μg/L) were 82.2, 88.9 and 85.1, respectively; further, the relative standard deviations (RSD, %) were 15.9, 4.2 and 1.8, respectively. Carryover tests indicated that there was no BPA detected in all three blank samples, which implied that there were no BPA residues in trap column or analysis column.…”

“…18 The distinct exposure differences may be because of the different life style, age and regional different BPA usage. Although the BPA concentrations in the infants are generally lower than in the old children and adults, 9,18,34,35 because of their much greater susceptibility, the health risk needs to be investigated closely.…”

“…17 However, only a few reports have shown that infant cohorts were exposed to BPA. For example, one study reported that the investigated infant (3 -15 months old) urine samples had a mean of 0.96 μg/L BPA, 18 few other reports [19][20][21][22] also showed that the newborn and/or young infant urine indicated trace levels of BPA being detected. These limited data revealed that the BPA levels in the newborns and infants may be lower than the levels in the old children and adults.…”

“…Although this technique can greatly enhance the method sensitivity, its drawback is also apparent due to extra, tedious derivatization steps. In another way, using HPLC grade water 18 is an expensive choice for reduced any mobile-phase contamination.…”

Assessing exposure of young children to common endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the home environment: a review and commentary of the questionnaire-based approach

“…A limited number of studies have assessed whether breastfeeding is associated with exposure of young children to BPA or phthalates, of which none reported any significant associations (46,49,54). Although BPA and phthalates partition into breast milk, unlike PBDEs they do not accumulate in breast milk (9,54,89).…”