A new survey has found more than 356,000 annual deaths from heart disease are linked to phtha-lates. Eastern regions are being hit hardest. The plastic additives are used used to make flexible items – particularly kitchen tools, food containers and packaging…
Already linked to increased risk of cancer, a family of plastics additives known as
phthalates has now been been associated with increased risk of heart disease…
The experts have been warning us to avoid phthalates for more than a decade, now. Early studies discovered an association between the additives and an increased risk of conditions ranging from obesity and diabetes to fertility issues and cancer…
Even deadlier than we thought…
As a result many Western jurisdictions have banned the additives, which once popped up commonly in cosmetics, detergents, solvents, plastic pipes, bug repellants, and other products. But they’re still in wide use elsewhere, including the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific.
Now, a worldwide study from Langone Health at the New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine has confirmed a link between phthalates and heart disease deaths…
What they did
A team led by study lead author Sara Hyman, an associate research scientist at Grossman School, surveyed health and environmental data from dozens of population surveys to estimate phthalate exposure across 200 countries and territories.
According to Hyman, the current study focused on just one specific kind of phthalate called di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), which is used to make food containers, medical equipment, and other plastic softer and more flexible. Exposure has been shown in other studies to prompt an overactive immune response (inflammation) in the heart’s arteries, which, over time, is associated with increased risk of heart attack or stroke.
What they found
In their new analysis, the authors estimated that, “DEHP exposure contributed to 356,238 deaths, or more than 13 percent of all global mortality from heart disease in 2018 among men and women aged 55 through 64.”
(2018 was the most recent year for which complete and reliable figures were available from all the studies and surveys analysed by the NYU team.)
Furthermore, the total global economic burden from the deaths identified in the NYU study was estimated to be around $510 billion and may have reached as high as $3.74 trillion.
The takeaway
“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,” Hyman writes.
“There is a clear disparity in which parts of the world bear the brunt of heightened heart risks from phthalates,” said study senior author Dr Leonardo Trasande, adds. “Our results underscore the urgent need for global regulations to reduce exposure to these toxins, especially in areas most affected by rapid industrialization and [soaring rates of] plastic consumption.”
My take
I was naive enough to assume, once the initial wave of shock and awe about phthalates washed over Western society, that they had been outlawed (as they should be. And that the world could move on to tackle other monstrous threats to global health and well being. I was clearly wrong.
But studies such as the new global survey by Hyman’s, given wide and prominent exposure, may help get the oversight remedied. We can afford neither the financial nor the human cost of phthalates…
~ Maggie J.