Monday, August 09, 2010

BPA now implicated in male fertility

BPA is the chemical in many plastics that was previously implicated in infant health concerns, wasn't it? I remember there was some debate about the composition of some plastic baby bottles and possible side effects, and if I remember correctly it was BPA that was the concern.

Well now comes news of a study led by Professor John Meeker from the University of Michigan in conjunction with the Harvard School of Public Health. 190 men were recruited to the study through a fertility clinic and 90 per cent tested positive for BPA in their urine. And men with the highest levels of Bisphenol A (BPA) in their urine had a sperm count 23 per cent lower on average than those with the lowest BPA levels.

The study is kind of small and hasn't been repeated yet so maybe it is too soon to call this conclusive. Or maybe if you are a man having fertility issues this is another thing to add to a rather long list of cautions - avoid food and beverage packaged in hard plastic containers since they usually use BPA to achieve the hardening of the plastic.

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