Association between microplastics and cardiovascular risk?

Studies have shown that we potentially consume several tens of thousands of microplastic particles per year. But what are the risks for cardiovascular health?

𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 are pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in size, but many are only visible under a microscope. More and more studies have revealed the presence of these microparticles in 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝. Particles can enter the body via several routes, including food, inhaled air, and even directly via the skin.

A recent study published in the 𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝐸𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑒 investigated the 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 as a function of microparticle consumption. The authors analyzed the artery-clogging plaques of 257 patients who had undergone carotid endarterectomy. 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐲𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 were detected in the plaques of 𝟓𝟖.𝟒% 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, and these had a 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 of myocardial infarction, stroke, or death at 34 months of follow-up than patients in whom these particles had not been detected.

Although this study demonstrated an association, it is still 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 between the presence of microplastics and increased cardiovascular risk. These results need to be replicated and confirmed by other studies, but they nevertheless serve as a 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫-𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜.