Common chemicals found in everyday plastic products may be associated with cardiovascular disease worldwide, with highest impacts in Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific.What you need to know

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Study links chemicals found in many household plastic products with mortality from heart disease. Also Read | Car Ramming Attacks: Why Do They Keep Happening?.

The Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific are the most affected regions.

Changing how household plastics are used may reduce risk.

A chemical found in household plastic items could be associated with cardiovascular disease, according to a new study.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally, responsible for an estimated 17.9 million deaths each year according to the World Health Organization.

The new study from researchers at NYU Langone Health in the US suggests certain common plastic chemicals might be associated with more than 10% of heart disease deaths in adults ages 55 to 64.

Plastic additive could play a role in heart disease deaths

Health and environmental data from population surveys was analyzed to estimate mortality from exposure to phthalates — chemicals that are used to increase the durability and flexibility of plastics.

Based on their analysis, they estimated exposure to the phthalate DEHP (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate) could have contributed to 350,000 deaths in 2018.

As the study was not designed to establish whether DEHP directly causes heart disease, they caution against drawing definitive conclusions.

"The idea is to basically track exposures [to DEHP]. We had to model exposures across the globe based upon the available data, so, there are limitations in what we have," said lead researcher Leonardo Trasande, director of the NYU Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards, US.

While DEHP is found worldwide, the study found its impact is concentrated in just a few regions. Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific account for three-quarters of the total estimated deaths associated with DEHP.

India is estimated to have the highest mortality at more than 100,000 deaths, followed by Pakistan and Egypt.

"The previous study on which the modeling was based accounted for body mass index, dietary consumption, physical activity, and a host of other of the usual social determinants of health that we consider as potential alternate explanations," Trasande said.

Phthalates: their risks and how to reduce exposure

Previous studies have reported negative impacts of phthalates on reproductive health and the immune system.

"What we know at the present time is that multiple chemicals used in plastic materials contribute to inflammation, hack our hormones our natural signaling molecules that underlie basic biological functions, including metabolism and cardiovascular function," said Trasande.

"But this study and the study on which it's based, don't exist in isolation. There is a larger body of studies from the laboratory, from animals and from humans that suggest that these chemicals contribute to heart disease.”

Every day we are surrounded by plastic and avoiding it can seem impossible, but Trasande said people can take several precautionary measures.

"We can renegotiate our relationship with plastic," said Trasande.

"Particularly, we need to avoid microwaving and dishwashing plastic, because that's a way to resorb the chemicals used in plastic materials or turn them into microplastics that can deliver these chemicals into the human."

A global plastics treaty is being negotiated by the United Nations. In the European Union, phthalates such as DEHP are banned in toys and cosmetics.

"There is a high ambition coalition of countries that is working to [...] not only reduce chemicals used in plastic materials of concern, but also to address the magnitude of plastic pollution."

Edited by Matthew Ward Agius

Source

Phthalate exposure from plastics and cardiovascular disease: global estimates of attributable mortality and years life lost

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 29, 2025 07:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).