Another environmental threat to a woman’s fertility: BPA

There are environmental threats to both a man’s and a woman’s fertility. Some are obvious like smoking. Others we may not be aware of and there may be little or nothing we can do about it.

As reported in the New York Times, a few years ago scientists began testing a theory about the risks to women posed by the widely used industrial compound bisphenol A, or BPA.

A series of studies had suggested that it could damage developing ovaries. But nobody knew how. So for a month, scientists dosed young female mice with a BPA solution at a level comparable to estimated human exposure in the United States then examined their ovaries, focusing on the follicles, which contain the eggs.

The effect of the BPA was immediately obvious. Compared with normal mice, the follicles of the treated mice were fewer and smaller. Further analysis showed that estradiol, the sex hormone essential for normal reproductive development, was not being produced at normal levels. BPA, it seemed, interferes with enzymes essential in the production of such hormones. Another study published this spring found that treated mice stopped producing viable eggs at an abnormally young age.

Scientists have discovered similar effects across an increasingly broad range of mammals, from sheep to monkeys to, alas, humans. The accumulating research fuels rising concern among scientists that childhood exposure to BPA may well contribute to female infertility, and that adult exposure may result in a shorter reproductive life span.

BPA came into wide commercial use in the mid-20th century. It is an ingredient in products like polycarbonate plastics, thermal coatings on cash register receipts and protective linings in cans and pipes.

Concerns about its health risks didn’t really arise until the late 1990s, when researchers first reported that it appeared to disrupt normal hormone function. Consumer worry led the Food and Drug Administration to ban it in baby products, such as bottles, and manufacturers voluntarily scaled back its use in other goods. But because good substitutes are hard to find, BPA is still used in many materials, and studies have found that a majority of Americans still test positive for exposure.

The answer for children and women in the reproductive age group is obvious. Avoid it. But how when you don’t know where it may be used. You can look for cans and plastic containers that may say BPA-free, but that’s not too common. What you can do is avoid known hazards like smoking excessive alcohol and caffeine, and fish known to contain high levels of mercury.