Cited by 65Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicalsSexual Differentiation and DisordersToxic Organic Pollutants Impact

First-Trimester Urinary Bisphenol A Concentration in Relation to Anogenital Distance, an Androgen-Sensitive Measure of Reproductive Development, in Infant Girls

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Barrett, Emily S., Sathyanarayana, Sheela, Mbowe, Omar, Thurston, Sally W., Redmon, J. Bruce, Nguyen, Ruby H.N., Swan, Shanna H.·2017·Environmental Health Perspectives

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Evidence from animal models suggests that prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a ubiquitous endocrine-disrupting chemical, is associated with adverse reproductive outcomes in females. Exposure during early gestation, a critical period for reproductive development, is of particular concern. Anogenital distance (AGD) is a sensitive biomarker of the fetal hormonal milieu and a measure of reproductive toxicity in animal models. In some studies, the daughters of BPA-exposed dams have shorter AGD than controls. Here, we investigate this relationship in humans. METHODS: BPA was assayed in first-trimester urine samples from 385 participants who delivered infant girls in a multicenter pregnancy cohort study. After birth, daughters underwent exams that included two measures of AGD (AGD-AC: distance from center of anus to clitoris; AGD-AF: distance from center of anus to fourchette). We fit linear regression models to examine the association between specific gravity-adjusted (SPG-adj) maternal BPA concentrations and infant AGD, adjusting for covariates. RESULTS: BPA was detectable in 94% of women. In covariate-adjusted models fit on 381 eligible subjects, the natural logarithm of SpG-adj maternal BPA concentration was inversely associated with infant AGD-AC [β=−0.56, 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.97, −0.15]. We observed no association between maternal BPA and infant AGD-AF. CONCLUSION: BPA may have toxic effects on the female reproductive system in humans, as it does in animal models. Higher first-trimester BPA exposure was associated with significantly shorter AGD in daughters, suggesting that BPA may alter the hormonal environment of the female fetus. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP875.

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  • In humans, prenatal BPA exposure in the first trimester leads to shorter AGD in daughters.

    “In humans, prenatal BPA exposure in the first trimester leads to shorter AGD in daughters.48”

    From Prenatal Origins of Endometriosis Pathology and Pain: Reviewing the Evidence of a Role for Low Testosterone (2023) · cites this paper as [48]

    The Discussion reports an inverse association between first-trimester maternal urinary BPA and one of two measures of daughters’ AGD at birth. The claim’s “leads to” wording presents that association as causal, which the paper does not establish; the other AGD measure was not significantly associated with BPA. (LLM, conf=0.89)

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. WHO (World Health Organization). 2011 Toxicological and health aspects of bisphenol A. In: Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting to Review Toxicological and Health Aspects of Bisphenol A: Final Report, Including Report of Stakeholder Meeting on Bisphenol A, 1-5 November 2010, Ottawa, Canada. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.

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Authors
Barrett, E. S., Sathyanarayana, S., Mbowe, O., Thurston, S. W., Redmon, J. B., Nguyen, R. H. N., & Swan, S. H.
Affiliations
  • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
  • University of Washington (US)
  • University of Rochester Medicine (US)
  • University of Minnesota (US)
  • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
Corresponding author
Barrett, Emily S.
Venue
Environmental Health Perspectives
Published
2017-07-24
Volume
125
Issue
7
Pages
077008-077008
ISSN
  • 0091-6765 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-9924
OpenAlex
W2739150878
Cited by
65
References
85
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 1
FWCI
3.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
public-domain
Locations
  • Environmental Health Perspectives (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • University of California, San Francisco
  • Medical Center, University of Rochester
  • National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R01ES016863, T32ES007271, R01ES025169, P30ES001247, P30ES005022)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
Keywords
bisphenol A, first trimester exposure, anogenital distance, infant girls, endocrine disruptors, prenatal exposure, female reproductive development, pregnancy cohort
MeSH terms
Bisphenol A Compounds, Anal Canal, Benzhydryl Compounds, Female, Genitalia, Female, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Phenols, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Trimester, First, Endocrine Disruptors

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