New research analyzing population surveys links daily exposure to phthalates—chemicals used to make plastic household items—to hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide from heart disease.
Cosmetics, detergents, solvents, plastic pipes, insect repellents, and other items contain phthalates, which have been linked to health problems for decades, according to scientists.
Studies have connected the ingestion of these chemically broken-down particles to an elevated risk of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, infertility, and obesity.
Researchers at NYU Langone Health zeroed in on di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), a type of plastic used to soften and increase flexibility in a variety of applications, including food containers and medical equipment, in their study.
Other research has linked exposure to an inflammatory response in the heart’s arteries, which in turn increases the risk of cardiovascular events including heart attacks and strokes.
In 2018, among men and women aged 55 to 64, the authors calculated that 356,238 deaths—more than 13% of all global mortality from heart disease—were caused by DEHP exposure.
“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, an associate research scientist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
According to the authors, the monetary cost of the fatalities they counted ranged from an estimated $510 billion to as much as $3.74 trillion.
In 2021 study, phthalates were linked to almost 50,000 premature heart disease deaths in older Americans. Their study may be the first global estimate of chemical-related cardiovascular mortality or other health outcomes.
According to Lancet eBiomedicine, the team estimated DEHP exposure in 200 nations and territories using health and environmental data from hundreds of population surveys. Plastic additive chemical breakdown products were found in urine samples.
The study found that losses in East Asia and the Middle East and East Asia and the Pacific accounted for 42% and 32% of DEHP-related heart disease mortality, respectively.
According to the authors, these countries may have greater chemical exposure rates due to a plastic industry boom and less manufacturing controls than other regions.
Leonardo Trasande, the study senior author said, “There is a clear disparity in which parts of the world bear the brunt of heightened heart risks from phthalates. Our results underscore the urgent need for global regulations to reduce exposure to these toxins, especially in areas most affected by rapid industrialization and plastic consumption.”