Plastic Chemical Tied to Heart Disease and Diabetes

Sept. 17 -- TUESDAY, Sept. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in plastics that include baby bottles and packaging for food and beverages, may put people at risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes, a new study concludes.

Adding to the controversy surrounding this ubiquitous chemical, this study fuels the fears of those who want it banned. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in April that BPA was "safe and that exposure levels to BPA from food contact materials, including for infants and children, are below those that may cause health effects."

The research, published in the Sept. 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, was released early to coincide with an FDA advisory panel meeting on the issue Tuesday.

According to one expert, the study is suggestive, but not conclusive. "I am really torn here, because I really believe that BPA has some concerns, but this paper does not prove that," said Dr. Hugh S. Taylor, an associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at the Yale University School of Medicine.

"It's sort of classic guilt by association," Taylor said. "The correlations are there. There is more diabetes and more heart disease in people with more BPA, but people who are eating a lot of things out of cans and water bottles are going to have higher BPA in their urine, and they're probably not eating the healthiest diet, so you might expect them to have diabetes and heart disease."

And as the hearing got under way Tuesday, a senior FDA scientist defended the agency's assessment of the chemical.

"A margin of safety exists that is adequate to protect consumers, including infants and children, at the current levels of exposure," Laura Tarantino told the panel members, according to the Associated Press.

Ahead of the hearing, the Consumer Federation of America released a statement calling on the FDA to act decisively in dealing with the potential hazards of BPA.