Italian Children Exposure to Bisphenol A: Biomonitoring Data from the LIFE PERSUADED Project

Abstract

A human biomonitoring (HBM) study on bisphenol A (BPA) in Italian children and adolescents was performed within the LIFE PERSUADED project, considering the residing areas, sex and age. The median urinary BPA level was 7.02 µg/L, with children living in the South of Italy or in urban areas having higher levels than those residing in the North or in rural areas. Children aged 4–6 years had higher BPA levels than those aged 7–10 and 11–14 years, but no differences were detected between sexes. The exposure in Italian children was higher compared to children from other countries, but lower than the HBM guidance value (135 µg/L). The estimated daily intake was 0.17 μg/kg body weight (bw) per day, about 24-fold below the temporary Tolerable Daily Intake of 4 μg/kg bw per day established by the European Food Safety Authority. However, this threshold was exceeded in 1.44% of the enrolled children, raising concern about the overall exposure of Italian young population.

Women exposure to Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) and bisphenol A (BPA) from different residing areas in Italy: data from the LIFE PERSUADED project

“…However, the concentration of BPA in Italian women here measured was similar to another study conducted in Italy in the Tuscany Chianti area involving 715 adults between 20 and 74 years old, where GM of BPA was 5.14 μg/L (Galloway et al, 2010), indicating a possible peculiarity of this territory. Moreover, since similar BPA levels were found in children enrolled in LIFE PERSUADED (Tait et al, 2021), it can be hypothesized that the Italian population is more exposed to BPA, as a possible consequence of lifestyles, eating habits or environmental contamination; in this regard an important contribution could come from the elaboration of data collected in LIFE PERSUADED questionnaires (unpublished data).…”

“…In this paper, we report the HBM results for the mothers with comparison of exposure levels according to living areas, which complete the data already published for the children (Tait et al, 2020; Tait et al, 2021). Results of this large HBM study may support the adoption of legislative measures aimed at limiting the exposure to DEHP and BPA.…”

“…With respect to geographical areas, DEHP exposure in women was higher in the Southern than in Central and Northern Italy with mothers’ exposure similar to that of their children (data previously reported in ref (Tait et al, 2020)). On the contrary, for BPA, different exposure patterns were observed in mothers and children (Tait et al, 2021); indeed, while mothers leaving in Northern Italy had the highest BPA exposure, children leaving in the South had the highest levels. Therefore, DEHP-like exposure in mother-child pairs based on area of residence appears to suggest common determinants of exposure independent of age and lifestyle; conversely, different determinants of exposure for young and adult populations may have resulted in diversified exposure to BPA.…”

Assessment of Exposure to Di-(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) Metabolites and Bisphenol A (BPA) and Its Importance for the Prevention of Cardiometabolic Diseases

“…The results of the LIFE PERSUADED project showed that the majority of Italian children population (4-14 years old) and women were exposed to DEHP and BPA [76,77], with measurable levels of its representative metabolites and showing a continuous and widespread exposure for DEHP (47.49 µg/L or 45.32 µg/g crea, as geometric mean, GM). Indeed, for DEHP metabolites both UHPLC/MS and GC/MS methods have been reported, although analysis by LC/MS is the most common, while for BPA both instruments have been used although the accredited method (ISO17025) is by GC/MS/MS [93].…”

“…The LIFE-PERSUADED project aimed at the biomonitoring of phthalates (DEHP metabolites) and BPA in Italian healthy non-obese children (age 4-14 years) and their mothers (900 couples) collected from 2015 to 2018 during the human biomonitoring study [75][76][77]. Moreover, we studied the DEHP and BPA exposure in children with idiopathic premature thelarche (IPT) or precocious puberty (IPP, a minimum of 30 girls in each group, aged 2-7 years) and idiopathic obesity (IO, a minimum of 30 boys and 30 girls, aged 6-10 years).…”