Youssef Mouneimne
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Title: Assessment of BPA levels in urine by HPLC MS
Biography
Biography: Youssef Mouneimne
Abstract
Bisphenol A (BPA), is a synthetic chemical used in the production of plastics and epoxy resins of food packaging. BPA may be associated with adverse health effects. The objective of this study was to assess the level of BPA among a representative sample of Lebanese population residing in Beirut, as well as to assess factors associated with these levels. A representative sample of 501 men and women aged 18-79 years was examined in a cross-sectional manner with a health and food questionnaire, anthropometric measures and urine BPA analysis. Spot urine samples were collected in glass jars, aliquoted in glass containers and frozen at -20oC for further analysis. High performance liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy was used to analyze BPA according to Coughlin et al. (2011) and Ning et al. (2011). We found a mean urine BPA concentration of 3.67 ppb, with a standard deviation of 4.75. Some samples measured high concentrations up to 59.7 ppb, giving the total pattern a skewed distribution. We conclude that the concentration found are comparable to the values found in other countries.