BPA damages male reproductive system

If you as a man have been exposed to high levels of bisphenol A (BPA) and do not have a normal sexual life, you should not be surprised.  A new study found exposure to BPA is associated with increased risk for sexual dysfunctions.

The five-year study published in the journal Human Reproduction examined  634 workers in factories in China and found the workers in the BPA facilities had quadruple the risk of erectile dysfunction and seven times higher risk of ejaculation difficulty.

Previous animal studies have already shown BPA has a detrimental effect on the male reproductive system. But the current study is reportedly the first involving humans.

BPA is a chemical used in the production of polycarbonated plastics and epoxy resins and is found in baby bottles, plastic containers, linings of cans for food and beverages and also in dental sealants.

The BPA levels to which the subjects in the study were exposed were 50 times higher than what American men are exposed to in the United States, according to De-Kuun Li Ph.D. MD, at Kaiser Permanente located in Oakland, Ca.

"Because the BPA levels in this study were very high, more research needs to be done to see how low a level of BPA exposure may have effects on our reproductive system," said Li.

"This study raises the question: Is there a safe level for BPA exposure, and what is that level? More studies like this, which examine the effect of BPA on humans, are critically needed to help establish prevention strategies and regulatory policies."

Evidence is abundant actually to indicate that even low levels of exposure to bisphenol A can be problematic, according to some studies. It's generally recognized that the chemical is commulative in the body and the effect is persistent.

BPA has estrogenic properties and it may affect the brain, reproductive system and immune system in men and probably also in women, according to a review published in 2008 in Reproductive Toxicology.

The review of 199 studies on the effect of low doses of BPA below 50 mg/kg per day in model animals found many effects of BPA are similar to that of estrogens diethylstilbestrol and ethinylestradiol.

The potency of the effects is about 10 to 1000 times less than that of diethylstilbestrol or ethinylestradiol.

The researchers said "particular outcomes occur in response to low dose BPA exposure."

"We are confident that adult exposure to BPA affects the male reproductive tract, and that long lasting, organizational effects in response to developmental exposure to BPA occur in the brain, the male reproductive system, and metabolic processes."

They also believed that it is likely, but needs to be confirmed, that "adult exposure to BPA affects the brain, the female reproductive system and the immune system and that developmental effects occur in the female reproductive system."

The National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reviewed and approved publication of the report.

By David Liu and editing by Sheilah Downey