Everyday plastics linked to heart disease

Deutsche Welle :

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 Centre 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.