Associations of mid-childhood bisphenol A and bisphenol S exposure with mid-childhood and adolescent obesity.

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) is a suspected obesogen that has been associated with adiposity in children. Bisphenol S (BPS), a structural analog of BPA, is used as a BPA substitute and may have similar health effects as BPA. However, few studies have examined whether BPS is associated with childhood adiposity.
Methods: We quantified urinary BPA and BPS concentrations in 212 children age 8 years from the HOME Study, a prospective pregnancy and birth cohort study that enrolled pregnant women in Cincinnati, Ohio (2003-2006). We assessed children's adiposity by bioelectric impedance at age 8 years (n = 212), and by anthropometry and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at age 12 years (n = 181). We measured serum adipocytokine concentrations at age 12 years (n = 155). Using multivariable linear regression, we estimated covariate-adjusted associations of BPA and BPS with adiposity measures at ages 8 and 12 years and adipocytokine concentrations at age 12 years.
Results: Each 10-fold increase in urinary BPA concentrations were inversely associated with percent body fat at age 8 years [β = -1.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -3.4, 1.0] and 12 years (β = -1.6, 95% CI = -4.0, 0.9). In contrast, urinary BPS concentrations were positively associated with percent body fat at age 8 years (β = 1.1, 95% CI = -0.6, 2.7), but not at 12 years (β = 0.1, 95% CI = -1.7, 1.8). Urinary BPA and BPS concentrations were not associated with serum adiponectin or leptin concentrations.
Conclusions: We did not observe evidence that urinary BPA or BPS concentrations during childhood were associated with greater child adiposity at ages 8 and 12 years in this cohort.
Competing Interests: J.M.B. served as an expert witness in litigation related to perfluorooctanoic acid contamination in drinking water in New Hampshire. Any funds he received from this arrangement were/are paid to Brown University and cannot be used for his direct benefit (e.g., salary/fringe, travel, etc.). The remaining authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with regard to the content of this report.
(Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The Environmental Epidemiology. All rights reserved.)