Bisphenol S in Urine from the United States and Seven Asian Countries: Occurrence and Human Exposures

Abstract

As concern regarding the toxic effects of bisphenol A (BPA) grows, BPA in many consumer products is gradually being replaced with compounds such as bisphenol S (BPS). Nevertheless, data on the occurrence of BPS in human specimens are limited. In this study, 315 urine samples, collected from the general populations in the United States, China, India, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, and Vietnam, were analyzed for the presence of total BPS (free plus conjugated) concentrations by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). BPS was detected in 81% of the urine samples analyzed at concentrations ranging from below the limit of quantitation (LOQ 0.02 ng/mL) to 21 ng/mL (geometric mean: 0.168 ng/mL). The urinary BPS concentration varied among countries, and the highest geometric mean concentration [1.18 ng/mL or 0.933 mu g/g creatinine (Cre)] of BPS was found in urine samples from Japan, followed by the United States (0.299 ng/mL, 0.304 mu g/g Cre), China (0.226 mu g/mL, 0.223 mu g/g Cre), Kuwait (0.172 ng/mL, 0.126 mu g/g Cre), and Vietnam (0.160 ng/mL, 0.148 mu g/g Cre). Median concentrations of BPS in urine samples from the Asian countries were 1 order of magnitude lower than the median concentrations reported earlier for BPA in the same set of samples, with the exception of samples from Japan. There were no significant differences in BPS concentrations between genders (male versus female), or among age groups (categorized as <= 19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, and >= 50 years), or races (Caucasian versus Asian). The daily intake (EDI) of BPS was estimated on the basis of urinary concentrations using a simple pharmacokinetic approach. The median EDI values of BPS in Japan, China, United States, Kuwait, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, and Korea were 1.67, 0.339, 0.316, 0.292, 0.217, 0.122, 0.084, and 0.023 mu g/person, respectively. This is the first study to report the occurrence of BPS in human urine.