Prenatal exposure to bisphenol-A and neurocognitive changes in children aged 2 to 5 years: a systematic review.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review of observational longitudinal cohort studies
PubMed 40760858 · doi:10.1515/reveh-2024-0161
What was done
The authors performed a PRISMA-compliant systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42023494940) searching Web of Science, Embase, and PubMed through May 2024 without publication date restrictions. They examined the relationship between maternal bisphenol-A (BPA) exposure during pregnancy and neurocognitive development in children aged 2 to 5 years. Twenty-one longitudinal studies met inclusion criteria.
What was found
The abstract reports qualitative directions of effect without numerical risk estimates, odds ratios, or pooled effect sizes. Most studies reported adverse associations between prenatal BPA exposure and early childhood neurocognitive development. Effects varied by sex: females exhibited lower emotional control, reduced language dominance, and poorer problem-solving abilities, whereas males displayed lower psychomotor development and higher prosocial behavior. Across children, prenatal BPA was linked to hyperactivity, aggression, anxiety, depression, inattention, and sleep problems.
Why it matters
This review synthesizes longitudinal human evidence indicating that fetal exposure to the endocrine disruptor BPA may contribute to sex-specific cognitive and behavioral impairments in preschool-aged children.
Limits
The abstract does not report pooled quantitative effect sizes, confidence intervals, or total participant counts across the 21 included studies. Because the findings rely on observational longitudinal cohorts, residual confounding from socioeconomic status, home environment, and co-exposures to other environmental toxicants cannot be excluded.
Cited by
- supports Children exposed to higher levels of BPA during pregnancy are more likely to develop ADHD, anxiety, and depression later in childhood.