High bisphenol A (BPA) concentration in the maternal, but not fetal, compartment increases the risk of spontaneous preterm delivery

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine if BPA exposure, as measured by maternal plasma (MP) and amniotic fluid (AF) BPA concentrations is associated with an increased risk of spontaneous preterm birth (PTB) and preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM).

Methods: In this nested case–control study, MP samples from women in term labor (n = 30), preterm labor that ended with preterm delivery (n = 25), or who had pPROM (n = 30) and amniotic fluid samples from term labor (n= 45), preterm labor (n = 60), and pPROM (n = 35) were assayed for BPA by enzyme immunoassay.

Results: BPA was detectible in 100% of MP and AF samples. Women with MP BPA concentrations in the fourth quartile were at increased risk of PTB (cOR = 4.12, 95% CI = 1.32–12.87; aOR = 4.78, 95% CI = 1.14–20) but not pPROM. High (fourth quartile) AF BPA values also tended to increase the risk of pPROM (cOR = 2.47, 95% CI = 0.96–6.37) but results were not statistically significant.

Conclusions: Increased BPA concentration is associated with an increased risk for PTB or pPROM depending on the maternal–fetal compartment(s) affected. High MP plasma BPA concentrations are associated with PTB with intact membranes but high AF BPA concentrations may weakly be associated with pPROM.

Keywords:

• Amniotic fluid
• bisphenol A
• maternal plasma
• preterm birth

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the contributions of Eryn H Dutta, DO, Talar Kechichian, Maggie Kuhlmann, MD, and Sanjana Balachandra for their help with sample preparation for this study.

Ethical approval

The study was approved by the Western Institutional Review Board, Seattle, WA, and the institutional review board of The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX.

Declaration of interest

The authors report that they have no conflicts of interest. This study is partly supported by development funds to Dr. R Menon by the Dept. of OB-GYN, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX. Drs. Menon, Peltier and Getahun are also supported by the National Institutes of Health (1R01ES023116–01).