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Reconstruction of bisphenol A intake using a simple pharmacokinetic model

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 25, pages 240–248 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA) is used in the manufacture of a range of consumer products, and human biomonitoring studies suggest that exposure to BPA is nearly ubiquitous. We constructed and calibrated a simple pharmacokinetic model to predict urinary concentrations of BPA based on a known initial dose. This descriptive (rather than physiologically based) model has three compartments: “stomach/liver,” “blood,” and “bladder.” We calibrated and validated the model parameters using blood and urine measurements from nine volunteers who consumed 5 mg of d16-BPA. We then applied the model to a second group of eight persons, who supplied full volumes of urine over 7 consecutive days and a diary identifying times and types of food and beverage consumed, to “reconstruct” the time and mass of BPA intakes. These reconstructed daily intakes ranged on average from 60 to 100 ng/kg-day, within the range of, but slightly higher than, those surmised from other studies. About two-thirds of intakes occurred within an hour of reported food or drink consumption, supporting the hypothesis that diet is the main pathway of exposure to BPA. However, one-third of all reconstructed intakes took place outside this time window, suggesting that other sources of BPA exposure may also be relevant.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge Wolfgang Dekant, Wolfgang Voelkel, and Thomas Colnot for provision of data and helpful advice during manuscript development, and all study participants. We also thank Andreas Sjodin for designing the original study to assess the variability of urinary concentrations of polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons metabolites and for providing the samples that we used to analyze for BPA, and Pam Olive, Amber Bishop, and Jack Reidy for technical assistance in measuring the urinary concentrations of creatinine and BPA.

Disclaimer

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the US Environmental Protection Agency or of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, District of Columbia, USA,

    Krista L Y Christensen & Matthew Lorber

  2. National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Xiaoyun Ye & Antonia M Calafat

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  1. Krista L Y Christensen
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  2. Matthew Lorber
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Correspondence to Krista L Y Christensen.

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Christensen, K., Lorber, M., Ye, X. et al. Reconstruction of bisphenol A intake using a simple pharmacokinetic model. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 25, 240–248 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2013.81

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