Study explores plastic pollution’s impact on heart health
(Photo from Flickr/Oregon State University)
Plastics are ubiquitous materials in our environment, and according to research, fragments of these materials have already permeated key aspects of human life – from food and water to the air we breathe.
Related: New study digs deeper into harmful effects of microplastics consumption
Microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) are emerging as potential risk factors for cardiovascular disease in preclinical studies. However, direct evidence that this risk extends to humans is lacking, as indicated by a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, funded by the Programmi di Ricerca Scientifica di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale and others.
Related: Plastics found for the first time in human bloodstream
The study, led by researchers including Drs. Raffaele Marfella, Francesco Prattichizzo, Celestino Sardu, Gianluca Fulgenzi, Laura Graciotti, Tatiana Spadoni, Nunzia D’Onofrio, Lucia Scisciola, Rosalba La Grotta, Chiara Frigé, Valeria Pellegrini, Maurizio Municinò, and others, conducted a “prospective, multicenter, observational” study.
This study involved over 200 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA), a surgery performed to reduce the risk of stroke in patients with known cerebrovascular atherosclerotic disease and asymptomatic carotid artery disease. Carotid arteries are major blood vessels that supply blood to the brain. The excised carotid plaque specimens were analyzed for the presence of MNPs using pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, stable isotope analysis, and electron microscopy. Inflammatory biomarkers were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemical assay. The primary endpoint was a composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, or death from any cause among patients with evidence of MNPs in plaque compared to patients with plaque showing no evidence of MNPs.
Polyethylene (PE) was detected in the carotid artery plaque of 150 patients (58.4%), with a mean level of 21.7±24.5 μg per mg of plaque, while 31 patients (12.1%) also had measurable amounts of polyvinyl chloride, with a mean level of 5.2±2.4 μg per mg of plaque. Electron microscopy revealed visible, jagged-edged foreign particles among plaque macrophages and scattered in the external debris. Radiographic examination showed that some of these particles included chlorine. Patients in whom MNPs were detected within the atheroma were at a higher risk for a primary endpoint event than those in whom these substances were not detected (hazard ratio, 4.53; 95% confidence interval, 2.00 to 10.27; P<0.001).
The study found that patients with carotid artery plaque containing microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) had an increased risk of experiencing a combination of heart attacks, strokes, or death from any cause during a 34-month follow-up period, compared to patients without detected MNPs.
Source: The New England Journal of Medicine
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