You may have heard of a group of substances present in plastics known as Bisphenols, among which Bisphenol A, generally abbreviated BPA, and suspected to be very harmful to human health, stands out, however it is a monomer of many important plastics manufactured for decades. For some years now, given its relationship with many health disorders, it has been replaced by other bisphenols, initially considered less dangerous, but which in the light of research are still very similar in terms of their danger to our health, since it has been determined that they act as endocrine disruptors, that is, they alter the normal functioning of hormones.
Bisphenol F could affect IQ. Source: Edited image, original from pxhere.com
However, since our brains depend on a good hormonal functioning, it is worrying that we are constantly exposed to this group of substances. In this regard, a recent study has determined that bisphenol F has the capacity to influence a gene that is very important for neurological development.
The study, published in the scientific journal Environment International, exposes a mechanism that links exposure to this chemical during the fetal stage with a lower IQ at seven years of age. According to the research, animal studies and epidemiological data indicate that prenatal exposure to substances such as Bisphenol A affect neurological development, and now it has been shown that Bisphenol F, used as a substitute for BPA in plastics and resins, is associated with impaired cognition in children.
Chemical structure of bisphenol A and bisphenol F. Source: Wikipedia.com.
The study consisted of 799 children who participated in the Swedish Longitudinal Maternal and Infant Asthma and Allergy Program (SELMA) pregnancy cohort. Scientists measured the level of prenatal exposure to bisphenol F in the urine of pregnant women in the first trimester, and then monitored their children after birth by measuring at age 7 years the mDNA in a regulatory region of the GRIN2B gene from buccal swabs; specifically, DNA methylation was measured in the children at age 7 years and their cognitive ability was assessed.
The results of the study showed that prenatal exposure to high levels of bisphenol F increases methylation in the GRIN2B gene, which plays a key role in neurological development. On the other hand, 25% of the children evaluated who had a higher exposure to bisphenol F in the prenatal stage, presented two points less in IQ than the children exposed to low levels, so a higher methylation of the GRIN2B gene was associated with a lower IQ in children; although it was only two points, which is not significant in a single child, at a population level it may be representative.
The impact of this type of study lies in the fact of being able to identify the potential effect that bisphenyls and other compounds that are being used in the manufacture of plastics and resins have on human health, even procedures such as the determination of DNA methylation emerge as potential mechanisms to understand how these substances affect us at the molecular level.
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