Daily Mail 17th September 2008
Gender bending chemicals in food packaging, drink cans and baby bottles may double the risk of heart disease, researchers have found.
They have shown that people with higher than normal levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in their blood are more likely to suffer from heart problems.
The chemical also appears to raise the risk of diabetes, the study of nearly 1,500 people has shown.
Hidden danger? Bisphenol A, which has been linked to health problems, is used in plastic bottles
BPA is used to make linings of food and drink cans. It is also found in plastic bottles, CD cases, plastic knives and forks and dental sealants.
It is the first time it has been directly linked to health problems in humans and raises disturbing questions about one of the most common - and controversial - chemicals in everyday use.
Although some animal studies have suggested that it is safe, others have raised serious concerns.
BPA, which mimics the female sex hormone oestrogen, has been linked in animals to breast cancer, liver damage, obesity, diabetes, fertility problems in males and developmental disorders in the young. Professor David Melzer, of the Peninsula Medical School, Exeter, who led the research, said: 'Our study has revealed for the first time an association between raised BPA loads and two common diseases in adults.
At the moment we can't be absolutely sure that BPA is the direct cause of the extra cases of heart disease and diabetes - if it is, some causes of these serious conditions could prevented by reducing BPA exposure.'
The study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at blood and urine samples of 1,455 adults aged between 18 and 74 years.
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The levels of BPA in the study were well below official safety standards, but the 25 per cent of people with the highest levels of BPA were twice as likely to suffer heart disease or diabetes than the bottom 25 per cent.
Higher levels were also linked to abnormal concentrations of liver enzymes, a possible sign of liver damage. The links were strongest for young people.
The scientists do not know how BPA could increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
However, the chemical could lead to more fat being laid down in the arteries and interfere with the way insulin is processed.
Other researchers urged caution. Professor Richard Sharpe, of the Medical Research Council Human Reproductive Sciences Unit, University of Edinburgh, said: 'There may be a more commonsense explanation.
'That is, that if you drink lots of high-sugar canned drinks you will over time increase your risk of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes - I think we already suspect this - and incidentally you will be exposed to more bisphenol A from the can lining.
'The fact that the younger age groups in this study had the highest bisphenol A exposures would certainly fit with this.'
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