Study finds link between BPA and asthma
BPA, a.k.a. the chemical Bisphenol A that's commonly found in plastics and may be linked to cancer, could also be linked to asthma.
A new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics found that prenatal exposure to BPA could lower children's lung capacity, Time reports. The researchers looked at 398 pairs of mothers and infants, analyzing their urine samples both during the mothers' pregnancies and after the children were born. Higher BPA exposure by the expecting mothers was linked to decreased lung capacity in young children:
The researchers added that exposure to BPA during the mother's pregnancy was more detrimental than BPA exposure after birth. Adam Spanier, author of the study and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, told Time that the link between wheezing and prenatal BPA exposure could be indicative of asthma.
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Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
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