Heart disease deaths worldwide linked to chemical widely used in plastics

Summary

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Daily exposure to certain chemicals used to make plastic household items could be linked to more than 365,000 global deaths from heart disease in 2018 alone, a new analysis of population surveys shows. While the chemicals, called phthalates, are in widespread use globally, Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East populations bore a much larger share of the death toll than others—about half the total. For decades, experts have connected health problems to exposure to certain phthalates found in cosmetics, detergents, solvents, plastic pipes, bug repellents, and other products. When these chemicals break down into microscopic particles and are ingested, studies have linked them to an increased risk of conditions ranging from obesity and diabetes to fertility issues and cancer. Led by researchers at NYU Langone Health, the current study focused on a kind of phthalate called di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), which is used to make food containers, medical equipment, and other plastic softer and more flexible. Exposure has been shown in other studies to prompt an overactive immune response (inflammation) in the heart's arteries, which, over time, is associated with an increased risk of heart attack or stroke. In their new analysis, the authors estimated that DEHP exposure contributed to 368,764 deaths, or more than 10% of all global mortality from heart disease in 2018 among men and women aged 55 through 64. A report on the findings is published in the journal eBioMedicine. "By highlighting the connection between phthalates and a leading cause of death across the world, our findings add to the vast body of evidence that these chemicals present a tremendous danger to human health," said study lead author Sara Hyman, BS, an associate research scientist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. According to the authors, the resulting economic burden from the deaths identified in their study was estimated to be around $510 billion and may have reac...