--- 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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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=9ed2c11c-b057-42bb-ac05-7d5a57bb81c7&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1)  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"}}]}] ```