Cited by 374Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicalsToxic Organic Pollutants ImpactHealth, Environment, Cognitive Aging

Exposure to Bisphenol A and Other Phenols in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Premature Infants

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Calafat, Antonia M., Weuve, Jennifer, Ye, Xiaoyun, Jia, Lily T., Hu, Howard, Ringer, Steven, Huttner, Ken, Hauser, Russ·2009·Environmental Health Perspectives

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: We previously demonstrated that exposure to polyvinyl chloride plastic medical devices containing di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was associated with higher urinary concentrations of several DEHP metabolites in 54 premature infants in two neonatal intensive care units than in the general population. For 42 of these infants, we evaluated urinary concentrations of several phenols, including bisphenol A (BPA), in association with the use of the same medical devices. MEASUREMENTS: We measured the urinary concentrations of free and total (free plus conjugated) species of BPA, triclosan, benzophenone-3, methyl paraben, and propyl paraben. RESULTS: The percentage of BPA present as its conjugated species was > 90% in more than three-quarters of the premature infants. Intensity of use of products containing DEHP was strongly associated with BPA total concentrations but not with any other phenol. Adjusting for institution and sex, BPA total concentrations among infants in the group of high use of DEHP-containing products were 8.75 times as high as among infants in the low use group (p < 0.0001). Similarly, after adjusting for sex and DEHP-containing product use category, BPA total concentrations among infants in Institution A were 16.6 times as high as those among infants in Institution B (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: BPA geometric mean urinary concentration (30.3 microg/L) among premature infants undergoing intensive therapeutic medical interventions was one order of magnitude higher than that among the general population. Conjugated species were the primary urinary metabolites of BPA, suggesting that premature infants have some capacity to metabolize BPA. The differences in exposure to BPA by intensity of use of DEHP-containing medical products highlight the need for further studies to determine the specific source(s) of exposure to BPA.

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  • Neonates who receive medical treatments such as transfusions are widely recognized as potentially highly exposed.

    “Neonates who receive medical treatments such as transfusions are widely recognized as potentially highlexposed [148].”

    From A Review of Biomonitoring of Phthalate Exposures (2019) · cites this paper as [148]

    The Conclusion describes premature infants receiving intensive medical treatment as a potential high-risk population for chemical exposure, and the Discussion reports elevated BPA exposure associated with greater use of medical products. The paper does not identify transfusions as an example or assess exposure from them, so that specific part of the claim is unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Authors
Calafat, A. M., Weuve, J., Ye, X., Jia, L. T., Hu, H., Ringer, S., Huttner, K., & Hauser, R.
Affiliations
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)
  • Rush University Medical Center (US)
  • University of Michigan (US)
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
  • Neonatology Unit and
  • Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author
Calafat, Antonia M.
Venue
Environmental Health Perspectives
Published
2008-12-10
Volume
117
Issue
4
Pages
639-644
ISSN
  • 0091-6765 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-9924
OpenAlex
W2119352549
Cited by
374
References
47
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 36 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 31 · 2012: 28
FWCI
11.52
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Environmental Health Perspectives (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging
Keywords
bisphenol A, phenols, preterm infants, neonatal intensive care, DEHP, DEHP metabolites, urinary biomonitoring, triclosan, benzophenone-3, methylparaben, propylparaben, endocrine disruptors
MeSH terms
Bisphenol A Compounds, Benzhydryl Compounds, Benzophenones, Diethylhexyl Phthalate, Environmental Exposure, Equipment and Supplies, Estrogens, Non-Steroidal, Female, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Infant, Premature, Intensive Care Units, Neonatal, Male, Parabens, Phenols, Plasticizers, Risk Factors, Triclosan, Epidemiologic Studies

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