A new study out of the University of Michigan has found that exposure to bisphenol-A, or BPA, may be linked to low levels of sperm in men.  

 

BPA is a chemical compound commonly found in many of the products on store shelves today. The ubiquitous chemical has been found in everything from baby bottles to canned foods to store register receipts.  

 

In the study, which was conducted at an infertility clinic in the Boston area, researchers collected urine and sperm samples from 190 men. About nine in 10 of the men had levels of BPA in their urine. This is apparently consistent with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data on population exposure to the chemical.

 

According to the study, men who had the highest urinary concentrations of BPA had a 23 percent decline in sperm concentration and a 10 percent increase in sperm DNA damage. The study is ongoing and researchers want to recruit hundreds of more men to further examine the link between BPA and sperm quality.

 

I have written many a post about the animal studies and in-utero studies that have found a link between BPA and health effects, but this is the first one that I've seen one that shows a definite link between BPA and adult health. And it's just one more reason for all of us to avoid BPA ... especially men who hope to conceive a child in the future.