Phthalates that supply plastic products have caused more than 350,000 deaths around the world in 2018. This stems from a study by researchers of the NYU Langone Hospital University Hospital in New York in Lancet Ebiomedicine Journal. According to the AFP report, TASR reports this.
The study focused on phthalate (ester of phthalic acid) DEHP. “Exposure to DEHP has contributed to 356 238 deaths, representing more than 13 percent of total global mortality from heart disease in 2018 in men and women aged 55 to 64,” stated in the study. According to experts, approximately 75 percent of deaths are the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
The authors of the study stated that a higher number of deaths in countries such as India and China could be caused by “rapid industrialization” or “The expansion of plastics production without a number of production restrictions as in other regions”.
Expert findings show the need for global regulations to reduce exposure to these substances. “By pointing out the connection between DEHP and the main cause of deaths around the world, our findings contribute to a large amount of evidence that these chemicals pose a huge danger to human health,” Sara Hymanová, the main author of the study.
DEHP phthalates are except for heart problems Long -term associated with other diseases such as obesity, some types of cancer or fertility problems. They most often get into the human body after the disintegration into microparticles, which are then part of the food chain.
