A chemical commonly used in plastics called DEHP may have contributed to more than 356,000 heart-related deaths around the World in 2018 alone, according to a population study published in Lancet eBioMedicine led by NYU Langone Health. The chemical, most heavily used in Asia and the Middle East, is linked to inflammation in the arteries and can be found in common items like medical gear and food packaging.
What is DEHP?
The phthalates are used widely around the World, but the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific have experienced a much larger portion of the death toll than other areas, around three-fourths of the total. Phthalates use ranges from cosmetics, detergents, solvents, plastic pipes, bug repellants, medical gear, food packaging, and other products. They break down into microscopic particles that can be ingested. Studies have linked them to an increased risk of conditions ranging from obesity and diabetes to fertility issues and cancer.
This study focused on a 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.
Contributing To Heart Disease Deaths
In 2021, phthalates were linked to more than 50,000 premature deaths each year, mostly from heart disease, among older Americans. This latest investigation is believed to be the first global estimate to date of cardiovascular mortality — or indeed any health outcome — resulting from exposure to the chemicals, says Hyman, who is also a graduate student at NYU School of Public Global Health.
This new analysis estimated that DEHP exposure contributed to 356,238 deaths, or more than 13% of all global mortality from heart disease in 2018 among men and women ages 55 through 64. The resulting economic burden from the deaths identified in their study was estimated to be around $510 billion and may have reached as high as $3.74 trillion.
“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, BS, an associate research scientist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
Larger Burden Of Deaths
Among the findings, the losses in the combined region of East Asia and the Middle East and the combined region of East Asia and the Pacific accounted, respectively, for about 42% and 32% of the deaths from heart disease linked to DEHP. Specifically, India had the highest death count at 103,587 deaths, followed by China and Indonesia. The larger heart death risks were held even after adjusting the statistical analysis to take into account the population size within the studied age group.
“There is a clear disparity in which parts of the world bear the brunt of heightened heart risks from phthalates,” said 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,” added Trasande, the Jim G. Hendrick, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
Actual Loss Could Be Higher
However, it was cautioned that the analysis was not designed to establish that DEHP directly or alone caused heart disease and that higher death risks did not take into account other types of phthalates. Nor did it include mortality among those in other age groups. As a result, the overall death toll from heart disease connected to these chemicals is likely much higher.
Next steps may be to track how reductions in phthalate exposure may, over time, affect global mortality rates, as well as to expand the study to other health concerns posed by the chemicals, such as preterm birth.
This article was created at the WHN News Desk
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