Healthcare (Commonwealth Union) –A new analysis of global population data suggests that routine contact with certain chemicals used in manufacturing plastic household goods may be linked to over 356,000 heart disease-related deaths worldwide in 2018 alone.
Though these substances—known as phthalates—are used extensively across the globe, regions such as the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific were disproportionately affected, accounting for around 75% of the deaths.
For years, researchers have warned about the health risks associated with phthalate exposure, which comes from common items like cosmetics, cleaning products, plastic tubing, pesticides, and more. These chemicals degrade into tiny particles that can be ingested or absorbed, and have been tied to a wide range of health problems, including obesity, diabetes, reproductive disorders, and cancer.
This latest study, conducted by scientists at NYU Langone Health, focused on a specific type of phthalate called di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), often used to make plastic items like food packaging and medical devices more pliable. Previous research has shown that DEHP can trigger inflammation in the arteries of the heart, which may lead to a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes. In their analysis, the team estimated that DEHP exposure was responsible for 356,238 deaths globally in 2018—representing more than 13% of all heart disease fatalities in people aged 55 to 64.
“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,” explained the lead author of the study Sara Hyman, BS, who is an associate research scientist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
A new global study has linked a common chemical found in plastics—called DEHP—to hundreds of thousands of deaths from heart disease each year.
Back in 2021, researchers had already connected similar chemicals, known as phthalates, to over 50,000 early deaths a year in older Americans. But this new research is the first of its kind to estimate how many people around the world may be dying from heart problems caused by these substances.
The findings, published April 29 in The Lancet eBioMedicine, were based on data from dozens of health surveys in 200 countries and territories. Researchers looked at urine samples to detect traces of the plastic additive and combined that with global health records from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
The results were striking. Two regions—East Asia & the Pacific and East Asia & the Middle East—accounted for most of the deaths linked to DEHP, at about 32% and 42% respectively. India saw the highest number of deaths (over 100,000), followed by China and Indonesia.
Why the high numbers in these areas? The study’s authors suggest it’s because these countries are experiencing rapid growth in plastic production, often with fewer environmental regulations in place.
“There is a clear disparity in which parts of the world bear the brunt of heightened heart risks from phthalates,” explained the study senior author Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP. “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,” said Dr. Trasande, the Jim G. Hendrick, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
Dr. Trasande, a professor in the Department of Population Health, emphasizes that the analysis was not intended to prove DEHP directly or solely causes heart disease. He notes that the increased risk of death did not factor in other types of phthalates or include mortality data from other age groups. Consequently, he suggests the actual number of heart disease-related deaths linked to these chemicals is likely much higher.
