The epidemiological evidence for exposure to microplastic and nanoplastic particles to be harmful and contribute to age-related disease is sparse at this time, with nowhere near as sizable a weight of compelling evidence as exists for the analogous topic of particulate air pollution. This may be a matter of time, however; give it another two decades and the fields might look quite similar. Or they might not! It is too early to say. There is a lot of hype and excitement around the topic, so it seems likely that the necessary large human studies to establish and quantify any meaningful contribution to age-related disease will be conducted in the years to come. Meanwhile, the first few smaller studies suggesting that such a contribution exists are attract…
Are Microplastics Contributing to Age-Related Conditions?
The epidemiological evidence for exposure to microplastic and nanoplastic particles to be harmful and contribute to age-related disease is sparse at this time, with nowhere near as sizable a weight of compelling evidence as exists for the analogous topic of particulate air pollution. This may be a matter of time, however; give it another two decades and the fields might look quite similar. Or they might not! It is too early to say. There is a lot of hype and excitement around the topic, so it seems likely that the necessary large human studies to establish and quantify any meaningful contribution to age-related disease will be conducted in the years to come. Meanwhile, the first few smaller studies suggesting that such a contribution exists are attract…