Anxiety, depression and hyperactivity threaten little girls exposed in utero to bisphenol A: this is what a study published today by researchers at Harvard University in the journal Pediatrics tells us. We are also learning that this trend is really more pronounced for girls, which suggests that they are more vulnerable than boys to exposure to bisphenol A in utero, ”the study said.
A study of 244 children
This American study is based on data from 244 mothers and their children up to the age of 3. Urine samples were analyzed from mothers at 16 and 26 weeks gestation and then at birth. Then the children’s urine was tested at the age of 1, 2 and 3 years. For example, bisphenol A was detected in 85% of urine samples from mothers and 96% from children.
“None of the children had clinically abnormal behavior, but some of them had more behavioral problems than others: driving more aggressive, anxious or hyperactive,” said the author of this study, which is the first to demonstrate that the in utero period is the critical time when bisphenol A may produce health effects in children.
>> Studies that overwhelm Bisphenol A
Remember that after the ban in Europe and Canada of baby bottles containing bisphenol A, this chemical component, considered a disruptor of the hormonal system or endocrine disruptor, will be banned in France from 2014 in all food containers but from 2013 in products intended for children under 3 years old. But in the meantime, it is better to focus on glass containers.