Introduction
Bisphenol A or BPA is a widely used chemical in polycarbonate plastics. As a result, humans get exposed to BPA daily through beverages, their diet, water, air, and dust in the environment. Exposure to BPA causes a severe threat to human life and developmental defects in newborn babies. In addition, exposure to bisphenol affects health in several ways because the chemical has an endocrine-disrupting potential that can cause defects in humans from birth to adulthood.
What Are the Symptoms of BPA Toxicity?
The symptoms caused by BPA toxicity in the body are as follows:
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Severe pain in throat and mouth irritation.
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Pain in the eyes.
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Loss of vision.
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Swelling in the throat.
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Burning sensation in eyes, nose, tongue, lips, and ears.
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Hoarseness in the voice.
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Drooling.
What Are the Health Risks Associated With BPA Toxicity?
The health risks associated with BPA toxicity include:
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Neurological Effects- BPA exposure during fetal and childhood can cause human neurotoxicity, leading to aggression, depression, and anxiety disorders. Bisphenol A is an endocrine disruptor that can interfere with the production and functioning of the natural hormones in the body and causes neurological disorders.
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Cancer- BPA promotes cell proliferation and can develop prostate, breast, and ovary cancer due to its disruptive endocrine property. Exposure to BPA can also increase oxidative stress in the body's cancer cells, causing an increase in cancer cases.
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Fetal Development and Infertility- BPA toxicity in the body can alter fetal DNA, causing various developmental and growth defects in a child. It can also affect the women's eggs by acting as a natural hormone and can lead to flaws in the male reproductive system, such as sperm dysfunction. In addition, bisphenol A targets ovarian function and can pass through the amniotic fluid, thus producing fetal or congenital disabilities.
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Metabolic Disease- Bisphenol A is associated with metabolic diseases like obesity as it is an endocrine disruptor chemical that can cause an accumulation of fat in the fetus, causing obesity. In adults, BPA can disrupt insulin release in the body and alter insulin sensitivity without causing obesity. However, it can also alter lipid and glucose metabolism in humans and animals and increases fat cell production.
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Respiratory Effects- Exposure to BPA during pregnancy causes decreased lung capacity and development in children, leading to asthma and bronchial inflammation in adults.
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Heart Diseases and Diabetes- BPA exposure causes heart diseases, high blood pressure, and diabetes in humans by contributing to obesity caused by bisphenol, which also leads to all these health problems.
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Brain Functioning- BPA toxicity causes defects in the brain functioning of humans. Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and other cognitive disorders are often associated with BPA exposure which can cause conditions in the brain that leads to these disorders.
What Are the Daily Use Products That Contain BPA?
The daily use products that use BPA are as follows:
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Dental filling sealants.
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Menstrual products.
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Canned foods.
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Products packed in plastic containers.
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Eyewear lenses.
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Household products.
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Plastic utensils.
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Plastic water bottles.
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Drinking water pipes.
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Cosmetic products.
What Is the Mechanism of Action of BPA?
BPA or bisphenol disrupts the endocrine function in the body and affects the endogenous mechanism. Bisphenol A targets thyroid, estrogen, and androgen hormones, thus disturbing the androgenic agent. It also affects the steroid biosynthesis pathway and can block hormone activity and production. This endocrine disturbance and hormonal imbalance caused by BPA causes a risk of diabetes, cancer, metabolic syndromes, obesity, and fertility disorders in men and women. Brain developmental and growth defects in the fetus are also caused by the mechanism of action and disruption of hormones caused by bisphenol A toxicity.
How Does BPA Toxicity Affects Embryo Development?
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Studies have shown that BPA exposure can increase the body's reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to environmental exposure to the contaminants. The exposure leads to an increase in oxidative stress in the biological system. It further causes imbalance or disruption in the production and depletion of the reactive oxygen species and decreases anti-oxidants in the body.
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BPA exposure can also cause apoptosis or cell death in the embryo developmental phase.
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Bisphenol also affects the quality of the embryo by affecting the preimplantation embryo development pathway.
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BPA exposure also leads to alteration in the Methylation of DNA which causes the formation of an unhealthy embryo.
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An embryo's developmental potential depends on pluripotency, which is affected by apoptosis and DNA damage caused by bisphenol A exposure.
What Are the Effects of BPA on Children and Adults?
Bisphenol A affects children and adults in the following ways:
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BPA affects fetuses, infants, and children by producing behavioral effects on exposure example, girls usually show depressed, hostile, and nervous behavior, whereas boys are aggressive, violent, or emotionally sensitive. BPA exposure also causes growth and developmental disabilities in children of different age groups.
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Bisphenol leads to various disorders in adults and causes miscarriages, obesity, infertility, and mutation in a fetus. It also causes reproductive and developmental disorders in adults.
How Can We Minimize BPA Exposure?
People can minimize their exposure to BPA in the following ways:
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First, minimize using canned and packaged food products.
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Try using stainless steel, glass, and porcelain utensils and containers for hot liquids and food.
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Polycarbonate plastic products and containers are solid and durable but can break down at high temperatures. Therefore, avoid microwaved food and polycarbonate containers used to heat the food.
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Infants and children are at high risk of exposure to BPA during the developmental phase of life. Therefore, parents should opt for BPA-free milk bottles for babies.
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People should use glass or stainless steel containers, water bottles, and coffee mugs. Food should not be stored by people in plastic containers too.
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Always buy BPA-free toys for children to avoid toxicity or exposure to bisphenol.
Conclusion
BPA or bisphenol A is hard to avoid as it is everywhere in the environment and can cause exposure through various routes, such as the respiratory tract, dermal tract, and digestive system tract. Its exposure causes toxicity mechanisms and multi-organ defects in humans by altering the hormonal balance in the body; in addition, bisphenol exposure and adverse health effects have shown significant growth and developmental defects in fetuses and adults. Therefore, we should take precautions to avoid using BPA products in our daily life to minimize their exposure risk and associated health hazards.
