Maternal and fetal exposure to bisphenol A in Korea.

ABSTRACT

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a well-known endocrine disrupter used widely. Despite the potential risk of human exposure to BPA, little information exists concerning maternal and fetal exposure to BPA during pregnancy in Korea. This study purposed to evaluate the correlation between maternal and fetal exposure, and to determine exposure levels to BPA in Korean pregnant women and their fetuses. Maternal blood and umbilical cord blood were collected from 300 subjects, and total BPA levels were measured. Blood BPA concentrations ranged from non-detectable to 66.48 microg/L in pregnant women and from non-detectable to 8.86 microg/L in umbilical cords. Serum BPA levels in most pregnant women were higher than in corresponding fetal umbilical cords and a positive correlation was found between in maternal and fetal BPA concentrations (p<0.05).