Chemical in plastic food containers linked to heart disease

People with the highest levels of BPA (commonly used in consumer plastics) in their urine were almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary heart disease, say researchers. File Photo: M. Karunakaran

A chemical commonly used in plastic food containers is linked to heart disease, a new study has confirmed.

Bisphenol A or BPA is commonly used in consumer plastics, particularly polycarbonate plastic items such as sunglasses, reusable bottles, food packaging, and baby bottles. In a sampling of U.S. adults, those with the highest levels of BPA in their urine were almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary heart disease, than those with the lowest concentrations of BPA.

Study co-author Tamara Galloway, an ecotoxicologist at the U.K.’s University of Exeter, said that the findings almost perfectly dovetail with a 2008 study on the same topic.

“If you see it once, that’s interesting. If you see it twice in a separate population, it’s a strong indication that what you’re seeing is not just some chance finding,” National Geographic News quoted Galloway as saying.

However, Galloway warned that no direct cause-and-effect had been found between BPA and heart disease. The study appears in the journal PLoS One.