--- title: BPA Linked to Lower Lung Function In Children description: Bisphenol A, or BPA, lurks in the plastics of all kinds of consumer goods, from can linings to plastic bottles—but its influence doesn’t end with... canonical: https://time.com/3475859/bpa-lung-function-children/ author: Mandy Oaklander article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-07T17:04:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:37:01.263Z article:section: Health og:title: The Link Between BPA and Respiratory Problems in Children og:description: Bisphenol A, or BPA, lurks in the plastics of all kinds of consumer goods, from can linings to plastic bottles—but its influence doesn’t end with... og:url: https://time.com/3475859/bpa-lung-function-children/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1228de36705b6d5/6986a741adae4428055455b5/bisphenol-a.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4827 og:image:height: 2715 og:image:alt: 147217843 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Link Between BPA and Respiratory Problems in Children twitter:description: Bisphenol A, or BPA, lurks in the plastics of all kinds of consumer goods, from can linings to plastic bottles—but its influence doesn’t end with... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1228de36705b6d5/6986a741adae4428055455b5/bisphenol-a.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Link Between Asthma and This Chemical > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Oct 7, 2014 5:04 PM UTC  Bisphenol A molecule Bisphenol A molecule Laguna Design/Getty Images  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Oct 7, 2014 5:04 PM UTC Bisphenol A, or BPA, lurks in the plastics of all kinds of consumer goods, from can linings to plastic bottles—but its influence doesn’t end with the product. BPA is an endocrine disruptor that can leach into food and is linked to all kinds of health problems from [aggression](http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/24/bpa-exposure-in-pregnancy-may-affect-behavior-in-girls/) to [obesity](http://healthland.time.com/2012/09/18/bpa-linked-with-obesity-in-kids-and-teens/). Now, a new [study](http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.1397) published in _JAMA Pediatrics_ finds that prenatal exposure to BPA is also linked to lower lung capacity in some young children. **MORE**: [How BPA May Disrupt Brain Development](http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/26/how-bpa-may-disrupt-brain-development/) The study looked at urine samples of 398 mother-infant pairs, both during and after pregnancy. Every 10-fold increase in the BPA concentration of maternal urine—meaning every time that number went up 10 times—was linked to about a 55% increase in the odds of wheezing. Lung capacity was also affected: Higher BPA concentrations during pregnancy were also linked to decreased lung capacity in four-year-olds, but by age 5, that link disappeared. Once a child was born, the BPA levels in their own urine weren’t associated with wheeze at all. Exposure during pregnancy, not after, appears to be the critical time for BPA, possibly because it’s affecting important pathways that help the lung develop, says study author Adam Spanier, MD, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. That link between prenatal BPA exposure and wheeze might be reflective of asthma, Spanier says, which would be consistent with what animal models are finding. “Some animal studies out there suggest that BPA prenatally might affect the development of some of the cells in our airway,” he says. Asthma has been on the rise for the past three decades, and environmental exposures like BPA are thought to be a possible link. A 2013 study also found a link between [BPA and asthma,](http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/01/bpa-exposure-linked-to-asthma-in-kids/) and though the mechanism behind the connection is complex and unclear, Spanier sees a definite association. “If my sister who’s pregnant asked me for advice, I would tell her try to minimize her BPA exposure,” he says. “I wouldn’t say let’s do some more research.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3475859/bpa-lung-function-children/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3475859/bpa-lung-function-children/"},"headline":"The Link Between Asthma and This Chemical","datePublished":"2014-10-07T17:04:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:37:01.263Z","description":"Bisphenol A, or BPA, lurks in the plastics of all kinds of consumer goods, from can linings to plastic bottles—but its influence doesn’t end with...","url":"https://time.com/3475859/bpa-lung-function-children/","keywords":["Research","Pregnancy","Asthma","chemicals","BPA"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1228de36705b6d5/6986a741adae4428055455b5/bisphenol-a.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mandy Oaklander","jobTitle":"Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1228de36705b6d5/6986a741adae4428055455b5/bisphenol-a.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"147217843","caption":"147217843","creditText":"Laguna Design/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3475859/bpa-lung-function-children/","name":"The Link Between Asthma and This Chemical"}}]}] ```