Phthalates, a chemical compound present in plastic material considered an endocrine disruptor found in food and everyday objects, is thought to be responsible for more than 100,000 premature deaths each year in the United States.
- These products are found in plastics that cover food and everyday objects such as clothing, cosmetics, toys.
- These premature deaths are in particular the result of heart disease.
Plastic is known to be a danger to human health to the point of soon being removed in France for fruit and vegetable packaging. Recently, researchers have even discovered a high presence of tiny pieces of plastic in babies’ stools, capable of causing cell death, inflammation or even metabolic disorders. A new study, published on October 12 in the journal Environmental Pollutionestimated that phthalates, products considered harmful endocrine disruptors found in plastic, would be responsible for the premature death of nearly 100,000 Americans aged 55 to 64.
A substance found in everyday objects
These products are found in plastics that cover food and everyday objects such as clothing, cosmetics, toys. Until then, no direct link between exposure to phthalates and death from cardiovascular disease or cancer had been established with certainty.
To study the potential link between phthalates and the risk of premature death, American researchers from the Grossman School of Medicine at New York University analyzed the effects of exposure to this substance on 5,303 adults over the age of 20 years. This research was carried out between 2001 and 2010 through urinalysis in particular. Next, the researchers dissected mortality statistics on this population up to the end of 2015.
A substance directly linked to heart disease
The result is without appeal for the researchers who assure that each year, approximately 100,000 Americans aged 55 to 64 die prematurely because of phthalates. This conclusion was made by the authors of the study in “extrapolating (the results) to the age range of the US population from 55 to 64 years old”, they note. This allowed them to identify “90,761 to 107,283 attributable deaths” to exposure to phthalates.
These premature deaths are in particular the result of heart disease. “Until now, we knew that chemicals caused cardiovascular disease, which is a leading cause of deathexplains Leonardo Trasande, one of the authors of the study. But we hadn’t yet linked these chemicals directly to mortality.. Further studies will need to corroborate these observations and identify the mechanisms (at work), but regulatory authorities must act urgently..”
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