Bisphenol A (BPA) is commonly used in the manufacture of plastics and epoxy resins. In North America, over 90% of the population has detectable levels of urinary BPA. Human epidemiological studies have reported adverse behavioral outcomes with BPA exposure in children, however, corresponding effects on children’s brain structure have not yet been investigated. The current study examined the association between prenatal maternal and childhood BPA exposure and white matter microstructure in children aged 2 to 5 years, and investigated whether brain structure mediated the association between BPA exposure and child behavior. Participants were 98 mother-child pairs who were recruited between January 2009 and December 2012. Total BPA concentrations in spot urine samples obtained from mothers in the second trimester of pregnancy and from children at 3–4 years of age were analyzed. Children participated in a diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan at age 2–5 years (3.7 ± 0.8 years). Associations between prenatal maternal and childhood BPA and children’s fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity of 10 isolated white matter tracts were investigated, controlling for urinary creatinine, child sex, and age at the time of MRI. Post-hoc analyses examined if alterations in white matter mediated the relationship of BPA and children’s scores on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Prenatal maternal urinary BPA was significantly associated with child mean diffusivity in the splenium and right inferior longitudinal fasciculus. Splenium diffusivity mediated the relationship between maternal prenatal BPA levels and children’s internalizing behavior (indirect effect: β = 0.213, CI [0.0167, 0.564]). No significant associations were found between childhood BPA and white matter microstructure. This study provides preliminary evidence for the neural correlates of BPA exposure in humans. Our findings suggest that prenatal maternal exposure to BPA may lead to alterations in white matter microstructure in preschool aged children, and that such alterations mediate the relationship between early life exposure to BPA and internalizing problems.

中文翻译：

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产前母婴双酚A暴露与幼儿大脑结构和行为

双酚 A (BPA) 通常用于制造塑料和环氧树脂。在北美，超过 90% 的人口尿液中 BPA 含量可检测到。人类流行病学研究报告了儿童接触 BPA 的不良行为结果，但尚未研究对儿童大脑结构的相应影响。目前的研究检查了产前母亲和儿童 BPA 暴露与 2 至 5 岁儿童白质微结构之间的关联，并调查了大脑结构是否介导 BPA 暴露与儿童行为之间的关联。参与者是 2009 年 1 月至 2012 年 12 月期间招募的 98 对母子。对从妊娠中期母亲和 3-4 岁儿童获得的现场尿液样本中的总 BPA 浓度进行了分析。儿童在 2-5 岁（3.7 ± 0.8 岁）时接受了扩散磁共振成像 (MRI) 扫描。研究人员对产前母亲和儿童 BPA 与儿童分数各向异性和 10 个孤立白质束的平均扩散率之间的关联进行了研究，并控制了尿肌酐、儿童性别和 MRI 时的年龄。事后分析检查了白质的变化是否介导了 BPA 与儿童行为检查表 (CBCL) 分数的关系。产前母尿 BPA 与儿童压部和右下纵束的平均扩散率显着相关。压部扩散率介导母亲产前 BPA 水平与儿童内化行为之间的关系（间接影响：β = 0.213，CI [0.0167，0.564]）。儿童 BPA 与白质微结构之间没有发现显着关联。这项研究为人类接触 BPA 的神经相关性提供了初步证据。我们的研究结果表明，产前母亲接触 BPA 可能会导致学龄前儿童白质微观结构的改变，并且这种改变介导了生命早期接触 BPA 与内化问题之间的关系。