Bisphenol A exposure and type 2 diabetes mellitus risk: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: This meta-analytic study explored the relationship between the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and bisphenol A concentrations. METHODS: The Embase and Medline (PubMed) databases were searched, using relevant keywords, for studies published between 1980 and 2018. A total of 16 studies, twelve cross-sectional, two case-control and one prospective, were included in the meta-analysis. The odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were determined across the sixteen studies. The OR and its 95% CI of diabetes associated with bisphenol A were estimated using both fixed-effects and random-effects models. RESULTS: A total of 41,320 subjects were included. Fourteen of the sixteen studies included in the analysis provided measurements of urine bisphenol A levels and two study provided serum bisphenol A levels. Bisphenol A concentrations in human bio-specimens showed positive associations with T2DM risk (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.14, 1.44). A sensitivity analysis indicated that urine bisphenol A concentrations were positively associated with T2DM risk (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.09, 1.31). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis indicated that Bisphenol A exposure is positively associated with T2DM risk in humans. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12902-018-0310-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.