There is a reason why canned, processed food has such a bad reputation. A recent study conducted by a team from the Boston University School of Medicine found that canned food contains an industrial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) which when consumed by mothers during pregnancy can expose it to babies and affect their reproductive health in the future.
BPA is used in many industrial processes, (epoxy resins, polycarbonate plastic production) and is detectable in surface water and soil sediments and in the lining of food cans. While the greatest exposure is dietary from canned foods and plastic containers, skin exposure is a secondary route of smaller exposure.
For the study, the research team examined the existing literature from 2000 to June 2018. "We found there is mounting evidence for the effects of these exposures in the prenatal period, a particularly vulnerable time of development," explained Shruthi Mahalingaiah, Assistant Professor at BUSM.
"Whether there are causative associations with human ovulation disorders needs to be further studied."
BPA has a long-standing reputation for disrupting the endocrine system in fetuses and children (as well as adults) causing long-term health effects as well as in reproductive health outcomes. The research team is of the opinion that ovarian development and function represent complex coordination of processes, starting early during prenatal development. Early aberrations have the potential to carry through the female reproductive lifespan.
"Understanding the effect that BPA exposure has on ovarian outcomes may contribute to the treatment approach taken for diseases and disorders in which ovarian dysfunction is a manifestation such as infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome and premature ovarian failure," Mahalingaiah added.
The research team hopes their study raises awareness of the lasting effects that harmful prenatal exposures may have and that additional studies looking at the long-term effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in diverse populations will be undertaken.
