Increased levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in Thai girls with precocious puberty

Vichit Supornsilchai; Chutima Jantarat; Wichit Nosoognoen; Sopon Pornkunwilai; Suttipong Wacharasindhu; Olle Soder

doi:10.1515/jpem-2015-0326

Article

Increased levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in Thai girls with precocious puberty

Vichit Supornsilchai , Chutima Jantarat , Wichit Nosoognoen , Sopon Pornkunwilai , Suttipong Wacharasindhu and Olle Soder

Published/Copyright: January 21, 2016

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From the journal Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism Volume 29 Issue 11

Abstract

Background:

Reports on the secular trend of pubertal onset indicate a recent earlier start especially in girls. Bisphenol A (BPA), which posses estrogenic activity, might be a cause of advanced puberty. The objective of the study was to determine the association between BPA and advanced puberty.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted in patients with advanced puberty (n=41) compared to age-matched controls (n=47). Anthropometric measurements, estradiol, basal and gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH)-stimulated follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels, uterine sizes, ovarian diameters and bone ages were obtained. Urinary BPA concentrations were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MSMS) with the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of 0.05 ng/mL.

Results:

The median adjust-BPA concentration in advanced puberty group was higher than in control groups [1.44 vs. 0.59 μg/g creatinine (Cr): p<0.05]. We also found that the median adjust-BPA concentration in girls with advanced puberty who were overweight/obese, was greater than in the normal pubertal overweight/obese girls (1.74 vs. 0.59 μg/g Cr: p<0.05), and was in the same trend among normal weight girls with advanced and normal puberty (0.83 vs. 0.49 μg/g Cr: p=0.09), but not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

The present findings suggest that BPA exposure appears to be related to an earlier age at onset of puberty especially in obese girls.

Keywords: advanced puberty; bisphenol A; early puberty; obesity; overweight; precocious puberty; UPLC-MS/MS

Corresponding author: Vichit Supornsilchai, MD, PhD, Division of Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Sor Kor Building 11th floor, Chulalongkorn University Hospital, Bangkok 10330, Thailand, Phone: +662-256-4989, Fax: +662-256-4911

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the patients, their families, pediatric residents and pediatric endocrinology fellows for participating in the study. We would like to thank Miss Nuanpan Siripen for kindly help to analyze urine creatinine.

Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: Professor Olle Soder was financially supported by the Swedish Research Council. This study was funded by the Thailand Research Fund (Grant No. MRG5580203).
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.

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Received: 2015-8-14

Accepted: 2015-11-19

Published Online: 2016-1-21

Published in Print: 2016-11-1

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/jpem-2015-0326

Keywords for this article

advanced puberty; bisphenol A; early puberty; obesity; overweight; precocious puberty; UPLC-MS/MS