BPA content and diabetes
BPA is an endocrine-disrupting chemical, which may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Image: Pexels
Having just gone to print with CanTech’s July issue, in which PPG details the latest on BPA coatings regulations worldwide, I found it interesting to read some research results from the US earlier this week, suggesting that Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure in food and beverage packaging may directly impact diabetes risk in adults.
The findings were presented as an Oral Presentation – Presidents’ Select Abstract as well as a Symposium at the 84th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in Orlando, Florida.
In a double-blind study, participants were given either a placebo or BPA at the US EPA’s safe dose (50 ug/kg body weight) for four days to assess its effect on insulin sensitivity. The study saw 40 healthy, non-active adults (22 female, 18 male; average age 21.3; average BMI 22.1; 85% non-hispanic white) completing a two-day low-BPA diet, during which urine, blood, and peripheral insulin sensitivity were measured. Participants were then randomly assigned to a four-day diet with either oral BPA (50 μg/kg) or a placebo, in a double-blind manner. Outcomes were reassessed using repeated measures ANOVA, adjusting for sex, BMI, physical activity, and ethnicity.
Study results showed that BPA administration decreased peripheral insulin sensitivity after four days. From baseline to four days, body weight, as well as fasting blood glucose, was not significantly different between placebo group (PL) and BPA-50. Compared to PL, urine BPA was statistically significantly higher following BPA-50. From baseline to four days, peripheral insulin sensitivity significantly (P=0.01) decreased in BPA-50 and remained stable in PL.
Apparently, two follow-up studies are needed to accurately account for these results – the first being to see if a lower dose of Bisphenol A administration over several weeks or months increases diabetes risk, and the second to see if aerobic exercise, which is a powerful stimulator of decreasing diabetes risk, can reverse or overcome the negative effects of Bisphenol A administration. However, the initial results will not go unnoticed. The author of the study, Todd Hagobian, PhD, commented: “These results suggest that maybe the US EPA safe dose should be reconsidered.”
“Never before have we seen so much regulatory activity happening at once,” says PPG in our July feature. This just goes to show that studies like Bisphenol A one above may accelerate this activity, through driving regulators to further scrutinise what is considered a safe level of chemicals found in food and beverage container coatings.
- Alex Rivers (she/her), CanTech International editor
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