Miscarriage Risk Rises with BPA Exposure, Study Finds

Women exposed to high levels of bisphenol A early in their pregnancy had an 83 percent greater risk of miscarriage than women with the lowest levels, according to new research.

The scientists said their new study adds to evidence that low levels of the ubiquitous chemical, used to make polycarbonate plastic and found in some food cans and paper receipts, may affect human reproduction.

The study involved 115 pregnant women who had visited a Stanford University fertility clinic within about four weeks of fertilization. The more BPA detected in the women’s blood, the higher their risk of miscarriage, according to the researchers.

“Couples suffering from infertility or recurrent miscarriages would be best advised to reduce BPA exposure because it has the potential to adversely affect fetal development,” wrote the scientists, led by Dr. Ruth Lathi, a Stanford University associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology. The study was published in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

However, the new study doesn’t mean BPA causes miscarriages. The findings were based on one or two blood tests early during the pregnancies, and more women would need to be tested to see if the results are replicated.

In addition, the women who participated were likely at high reproductive risk because they had been treated at a fertility center. That means the findings may not be relevant for the general population, said Emily Barrett, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Rochester’s Medical Center. She was not involved in the study.

Sixty-eight of the 115 women had miscarriages, which is roughly three times the rate of the U.S. population. 

“This is not a typical population since these are women seeking fertility care,” Barrett said.

Despite the limitations, this is “another piece of evidence” linking the chemical to pregnancy problems, Barrett said.

In 2005, a smaller study in Japan found that 45 women who had three or more first-trimester miscarriages had three times more BPA in their blood than 32 women with no history of pregnancy problems. 

For the new study, the scientists divided the women into four groups based on their BPA measurement, then compared their miscarriage rates. The women with the highest exposures had an 83 percent higher risk of miscarriage, while those in the second and third groups had increased risks of 58 percent and 30 percent.

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