New York: Daily exposure to certain chemicals used in plastic items like food containers or medical equipment could be linked to an increase in deaths due to heart disease worldwide, according to a study published in the journal Lancet eBiomedicine.
Researchers at New York University Langone Health said that the chemicals, called phthalates, are in widespread use globally.
Phthalates found in cosmetics, detergents, solvents, plastic pipes, and bug repellants have for decades been linked with an increased risk of conditions ranging from obesity and diabetes to fertility issues and cancer.
The new study focused on a 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.
Previous studies linked their exposure with an overactive immune response (inflammation) in the heart’s arteries, which can potentially lead to heart attack or stroke.
However, the new analysis estimated that DEHP exposure contributed to 356,238 deaths, or more than 13 per cent of all global mortality from heart disease in 2018 among men and women ages 55 through 64.
For the research, the team used health and environmental data from dozens of population surveys to estimate DEHP exposure across 200 countries and territories. The information included urine samples containing chemical breakdown products left by the plastic additive.
The Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific bore a much larger share of the death toll than others -- about three-fourths of the total.
