BPA = not good.

[marmar]

By Elizabeth Lopatto


Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Bisphenol-A, a chemical used for decades to make plastic food containers and baby bottles, was linked to lower sperm quality in men, researchers said.

A five-year study of 514 Chinese workers compared those with detectable levels of BPA in their urine, ranging from high to low, and those with undetectable amounts, according to results appearing today in the journal Fertility & Sterility. Men with measurable levels had two to four times the risk of lower sperm concentration, sperm count, vitality and motility.

This is the first human study to show a relationship between semen quality and BPA levels in urine, after animal studies showed similar associations, said De-Kun Li, an epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente’s division of research in Oakland, California. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration said earlier this year that they will study the potential health effects of BPA. On Oct. 14, Canada declared the chemical a toxic substance.

“BPA damages your sperm, that’s the very obvious message,” Li said in a telephone interview. “Sometimes people may not care about semen quality, but they should -- it may lead to birth defects and infertility.” ........(more)

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