Bisphenol A exposure pathways in early childhood: Reviewing the need for improved risk assessment models

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a plasticiser found in a number of household plastics, electronics, and food-packaging materials. Over the past 5 years, several human epidemiological studies have reported a positive association between BPA exposure and adverse health outcomes in children, including obesity, asthma, preterm birth, and neuro-behavioural disturbances. These findings are in conflict with international environmental risk assessment models, which predict daily exposure levels to BPA should not pose a risk to child health. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the evidence for different exposure sources and potential exposure pathways of BPA in early childhood. By collating the findings from experimental models and exposure associations observed in human bio-monitoring studies, we affirm the potential for non-dietary sources to make a substantial contribution to total daily exposure in young children. Infants and toddlers have distinctive exposure sources, physiology, and metabolism of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. We recommend risk-assessment models implement new frameworks, which specifically address exposure and hazard in early childhood. This is particularly important for BPA, which is present in numerous products in the home and day-care environments, and for which animal studies report contradictory findings on its safety at environmentally relevant levels of exposure.