"Girls Exposed in Womb to BPA Have Risk of Behavior Problems"

"The research showed that hyperactive, anxious, aggressive and depressed behavior was more common in 3-year-old girls who were exposed in the womb to bisphenol-A than in boys of the same age. No association was seen between bisphenol-A levels during later childhood and behavior for either gender, according to the study released today by the journal Pediatrics."



"Bisphenol-A, or BPA, has been linked to male infertility, diabetes and cancer. Today’s findings confirm two previous studies finding that prenatal contact with BPA affects behavior and is the first to show that fetal exposure may be more important than coming into contact with the chemical during childhood, said Joe Braun, the lead study author.

'The developing fetus is tremendously sensitive to the affects of BPA,'said Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The institute is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which partly funded the study."

Nicole Ostrow reports for Bloomberg October 24, 2011.

SEE ALSO:

"Little Women" (TIME)

"Girls' Behavior Problems Linked to Prenatal Bisphenol A Exposure" (ENS)

Source: Bloomberg, 10/24/2011