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Microplastics may burrow into arteries and cause heart diseaseEspecially men, a new study suggests.
Today, tiny plastic particles ranging in size from one thousandth of a millimeter to five millimeters are everywhere, in food, water and air. They are known to enter the bloodstream and even Enter vital organs.
They involve a series of health statusfrom hormonal disorders, reproductive impairment, nerve damage, cancer and heart disease.
However, when it comes to heart disease, it’s unclear whether these particles actively damage arteries or simply accompany the disease.
“Our study provides the strongest evidence to date that microplastics may directly contribute to, rather than merely correlate with, cardiovascular disease,” said Changcheng Zhou, a professor of biomedicine at UC Riverside and an author of the new study published in the journal environment international, explain. “The surprising sex-specific effect – harming men but not women – could help researchers uncover protective factors or mechanisms that differ between men and women.”
In the latest study, researchers evaluated the effects of microplastics on mice genetically susceptible to atherosclerosis.
Both male and female research mice were fed a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet that was comparable to that of lean, healthy people.
However, over nine weeks, the mice received microplastic doses of about 10 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.
Scientists chose these microplastic exposure levels to reflect similar amounts to what humans might encounter through contaminated food and water.
Although the microplastic diet did not cause the mice to gain weight or increase cholesterol levels, and the animals remained slim, the arteries were damaged.
Specifically, researchers found significant differences in the effects of microplastics between male and female mice
Exposure to microplastics dramatically accelerated atherosclerosis in male mice, with plaque accumulation in the part of the aorta connected to the heart increasing by 63% and the brachiocephalic artery, which branches from the upper thoracic aorta, by more than sevenfold.
The study found that female mice exposed to the same conditions did not show a significant increase in plaque formation.
Upon further exploration, the researchers found that microplastics interfere with arteries and alter the behavior and balance of several cell types.
They found that endothelial cells, which form the lining of blood vessels, were most strongly affected.
“Because endothelial cells are the first to encounter circulating microplastics, their dysfunction can trigger inflammation and plaque formation,” Dr. Zhou said.
The researchers are now exploring why male mice appear to be more susceptible to arterial damage from exposure to microplastics, and whether this gender difference also applies to humans.
“It’s almost impossible to completely avoid microplastics,” Dr. Zhou said. “As microplastic pollution continues to rise globally, understanding its impact on human health, including heart disease, is more urgent than ever.”
“There are currently no effective ways to remove microplastics from the body, so it remains critical to minimize exposure and maintain overall cardiovascular health through diet, exercise and managing risk factors.”