The association of bisphenol-A urinary concentrations with antral follicle counts and other measures of ovarian reserve in women undergoing infertility treatments

Abstract

In this prospective cohort of women undergoing infertility treatments, we measured specific-gravity adjusted urinary BPA (SG-BPA) concentrations and used regression models to evaluate the association of BPA with antral follicle count (AFC), day-3 serum follicle stimulating hormone levels (FSH), and ovarian volume (OV). BPA, detected in >80% of women, had a geometric mean (±GSD) of 1.6±2.0, 1.7±2.1, and 1.5±1.8μg/L for the women contributing to the AFC (n=154), day-3 FSH (n=120), and OV (n=114) analyses, respectively. There was an average decrease in AFC of 12% (95% CI: -23%, -0.6%), 22% (95% CI: -31%, -11%), and 17% (95% CI: -27%, -6%), in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th SG-BPA quartile compared to the 1st quartile, respectively (p-trend: <0.001). No association of SG-BPA with FSH or OV was observed. Among women from an infertility clinic, higher urinary BPA concentrations were associated with lower AFC, raising concern for possible accelerated follicle loss and reproductive aging.

Keywords: AFC; AMH; Antral follicle count; BPA; Bisphenol-A; Day-3 follicle stimulating hormone; EDC; FSH; HSPH; Harvard School of Public Health; LOD; MGH; Massachusetts General Hospital; OV; Ovarian reserve; Ovarian volume; SG; anti-mullerian hormone; antral follicle count; bisphenol-A; endocrine disrupting compounds; follicle stimulating hormone; limit of detection; ovarian volume; specific gravity.