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Microplastics have been found in the blood and in organs such as the lungs and placenta.
From the great depths of the ocean to the top of Mount Everest, microplastics have been found almost everywhere on the planet. Now, scientists have discovered the tiny plastic particles found inside our clogged arteries. The discovery was made by researchers at the University of Campania, who studied more than 200 people undergoing surgeries to clear a major artery in the neck. The study found that almost 60 percent of patients had microplastics or even smaller nanoplastics in a major artery, according to American scientist.
The study has been published in New England Journal of Medicine.
It said patients who had microplastics found in their arteries were 4.5 times more likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke or death in the approximately 34 months after surgery than those whose arteries were free of plastic.
“To date, our study is the first to associate plastic pollution with human diseases,” said Raffaele Marfella, lead author of the study.
“Our data need to be confirmed by other studies and in larger populations. However, our study convincingly highlights the presence of plastics and their association with cardiovascular events in a representative population affected by atherosclerosis,” he added.
Pediatrician Dr. Philip Landrigan, professor of biology at Boston College and director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good and the Global Observatory for Planetary Health, said the study provided evidence that tiny plastics may be associated with poor outcomes. of cardiovascular diseases in humans.
“Although we do not know what other exposures may have contributed to the adverse outcomes among the patients in this study, the finding of microplastics and nanoplastics in plaque tissue is itself a groundbreaking discovery that raises a number of pressing questions,” he wrote. Dr. Landrigan in the study.
In humans, microplastics have been found in the blood and in organs such as the lungs and placenta.
Dangers of microplastics
According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), tiny plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in size have infiltrated our oceans, soils and even the air we breathe.
Within the human body, microplastics can invade individual cells and tissues in important organs, potentially disrupting cellular processes and depositing endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenols, phthalates, flame retardants and heavy metals.