More research needed to determine whether the link is causal, they concluded.
The research team had previously identified the link between BPA and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease by using two sets of US data. These showed a correlation between exposure to BPA and heart problems but they could not help researchers to predict how exposure to the chemical might affect future health.
The most recent study uses data from the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) in Norfolk, a long-term study led by the University of Cambridge, supported by the Medical Research Council UK and Cancer Research UK. It is the first time that data has been used to establish a link between exposure to BPA and future onset of cardiovascular disorders.
The study compared urine BPA measures from 758 initially healthy respondents who later developed cardiovascular disease, and 861 respondents who remained free from heart disease. The findings show that those who developed heart disease tended to have higher urinary BPA concentrations at the start of the 10-year period.
Professor David Melzer of the Peninsula Medical School, who led the team, said: “This study strengthens the statistical link between BPA and heart disease, but we can’t be certain that BPA itself is responsible. It is now important that government agencies organise drug style safety trials of BPA in humans, as much basic information about how BPA behaves in the human body is still unknown.”
Professor Tamara Galloway of the University of Exeter, senior author on the paper, added: “If BPA itself is directly responsible for this increase in risk, the size of effect is difficult to estimate. However, it adds to the evidence that BPA may be an additional contributor to heart disease risk alongside the major risk factors, such as smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.”
The analysis, which was funded by the British Heart Foundation, has been published online in Circulation – a Journal of the American Heart Association.
