Thaindian News

Washington, Oct 24 (IANS) Foetal exposure to the chemical bisphenol A or BPA, used in making plastic containers and other consumer goods, can cause behavioural and emotional problems among young girls, acccording to a study.

BPA is found in many consumer products, including canned food linings, polycarbonate plastics, dental sealants, and some receipts made from thermal paper.

Most people living in industrialized nations are exposed to BPA, which has been shown to retard growth in animals and cause cardiovascular disease and diabetes in people.

In a 2009 study, Harvard School of Public Health researchers showed that drinking from polycarbonate bottles increased the level of urinary BPA, reports the journal Paediatrics.

Joe Braun, research fellow in environmental health at HSPH, who led the study and his colleagues found that gestational BPA exposure was linked with more behavioural problems at age three, especially in girls, according to a Harvard statement.

The researchers collected data from 244 mothers and their three-year-old children in the Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment Study.

Mothers provided three urine samples during pregnancy and at birth that were tested for BPA; their children were tested each year from ages one to three.

When the children were three years old, the mothers completed surveys about their children’s behaviour.

“None of the children had clinically abnormal behaviour, but some children had more behaviour problems than others. Thus, we examined the relationship between the mom’s and children’s BPA concentrations and the different behaviors,” Braun said.

BPA was detected in over 85 percent of the urine samples from the mothers and over 96 percent of the children’s urine samples.