Microplastics are found throughout the body and linked to several diseases
In short: A review of research on microplastic pollution found that these tiny plastic fragments have been detected in human blood, saliva, sputum and even the placenta. The authors link microplastic exposure to cancer, intestinal, pulmonary, cardiovascular, infectious and inflammatory disease, as well as risks during pregnancy, and describe toxic effects such as oxidative stress and immune disruption, observed even at doses as low as 10 micrograms per millilitre.
This is a literature review that pulls together findings from many earlier studies on where microplastics come from, how they behave in the environment, and their toxicity, rather than reporting new experiments of its own. Because it synthesises research that varies widely in design, species studied and methods, the strength of evidence behind any single health claim is hard to judge from the review alone.
Why it matters: Microplastics show up throughout the human body, and research is still working out what that means for health.
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Sources
- Source: Research: Osman et al. (2023). Microplastic sources, formation, toxicity and remediation: a review. Environmental Chemistry Letters. · cc-by
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