The Associations Between Bisphenol A and Phthalates, and Measures of Adiposity Among Canadians

Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates are chemicals found in many consumer products including water bottles, food packaging and cosmetics. Previous research has shown that there is potential for these compounds to contribute to obesity. In this analysis, the Canadian Health Measures Survey was used to in...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: McCormack, Daniel
Other Authors: Chen, Yue
Language:en
Published: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10393/34349
http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-5323
Description
Summary:Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates are chemicals found in many consumer products including water bottles, food packaging and cosmetics. Previous research has shown that there is potential for these compounds to contribute to obesity. In this analysis, the Canadian Health Measures Survey was used to investigate possible associations between urinary concentrations of these compounds and measures of adiposity. BPA urine concentrations were found to decrease with age, and significant associations with BMI and waist circumference were found in linear regression in adults. No associations with measures of adiposity were found in logistic regression for adults and significant negative associations were found in children. A similar discrepancy was found for mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate and mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate, which were significantly associated with obesity in adults, but showed several significant negative associations in children. Overall, this analysis showed that it is unlikely that BPA and phthalates are contributing to adiposity in the Canadian population.