Bisphenol A exposure through receipt handling and its association with insulin resistance among female cashiers.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Non-randomized self-controlled before-after intervention trial with cross-sectional biomarker association
PubMed 29778011 · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2018.05.013
What was done
Fifty-four female cashiers from seven retail supermarkets in Korea participated in a two-week study. Participants worked without gloves during the first week and with gloves during the second week. Pre-shift and post-shift urine samples were collected on the first two consecutive days of each week to measure urinary bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations alongside metabolic syndrome biomarkers.
What was found
Without gloves, cashiers showed approximately a two-fold increase in urinary BPA concentrations after their work shift. When wearing gloves, post-shift urinary BPA concentrations showed no change compared to pre-shift levels. Higher urinary BPA concentrations were associated with higher levels of fasting insulin and insulin resistance, though exact numerical estimates, confidence intervals, and p-values were not reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
This study demonstrates that handling thermal paper receipts contributes substantially to occupational BPA burden in cashiers, and that wearing gloves is a simple, effective protective measure.
Limits
The study had a small sample size (n = 54) confined to female workers in one supermarket chain. The intervention was not randomized or counterbalanced (fixed order of weeks). Dietary and other non-occupational BPA sources were not controlled for in the abstract description, and numerical effect sizes for metabolic outcomes were omitted.
Cited by
- partial Nitrile gloves protect against dermal absorption of BPA from receipts, whereas latex gloves do not.