Environmental exposure to urinary Bisphenol-A in North Indian children aged between 6 and 16 years and its association with body mass index

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of environmental risk factors among North Indian children aged between 6 and 16 years associated with body mass index by comparing fasting and non-fasting urine Bisphenol-A, urine creatinine, and serum thyroid levels with other potential confounding factors. A total of 301 children were enrolled, and term fasting and non-fasting were used based on the sample collection, either first morning or random. Children were grouped into obese, non-obese, and underweight categories based on age- and gender-specific Centre for Disease Control (CDC) 2000 growth chart and grouped according to their body mass index. The overall mean ± SD (standard deviation) of age (years) was 10.45±2.39 (boys age 10.38±2.38 and girls age 10.45±2.40). Urinary Bisphenol-A concentration (ng/mL ± SD) was higher among obese (2.40±4.70) than non-obese (1.30±1.67) and underweight (1.84±3.46) category children. Higher levels of fasting urinary Bisphenol-A (≥2 ng/mL) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) (≥12.7 μg/dL) were associated with obesity than those of non-fasting children. Being non-fasting among girls at quartile 4 (obese, >2.1800 ng/mL; underweight, >2.1325 ng/mL) had higher odds (obese adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 7.72 (95% CI 0.08–1368.52), underweight adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 12.45 (95% CI 1.55–171.24)] than fasting children. We recommend awareness programs and policy guidelines by engaging teachers and parents for the physical assessment of the presence of Bisphenol-A in food packaging materials to reduce the potential exposure to other chemical migrations sources. Graphical abstract