Distribution of serum bisphenol A diglycidyl ether and its metabolite in Korean adult men and its association with reproductive hormone levels

Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) is a widely used coating for food cans and containers and so can be ingested along with contained food; however, measurement of BADGE in biological samples has not previously been performed. This study was conducted to determine serum concentrations of BADGE um and to evaluate the relationship between serum BADGE level and reproductive hormone levels in adult Korean petrochemical factory and non-petrochemical workers (n=223). BADGE and BADGE·2H2O levels in serum were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and reproductive hormones were analyzed using radioimmunoassay and immunoradiometric assay. The relationships between BADGE and BADGE·2H2O and reproductive hormone levels were assessed using generalized linear models and the distributions of BADGE and BADGE ·2H2O were skewed to the right. Serum BADGE and BADGE·2H2O in non-petrochemicalworkers showed a positive association with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH, s=0.241; 95% CI, 0.016 to 0.466) but a negative association with estradiol (E2, s=-0.116; 95% CI, -0.210 to -0.022). In this study, the serum BADGE and BADGE·2H2O concentrations were sufficiently high to produce hormonal alterations in adult men.