A new study published in eBioMedicine (April 28, 2025) draws an alarming connection between plastic polymers and chemical additives and “increased oxidative stress, metabolic dysfunction, and cardiovascular disease…”—and death. The study authors, Sara Hyman, Jonathan Acevedo, Chiara Giannarelli, and Leonard Trasande (New York University Grossman School of Medicine), have found that “plastics pose a significant risk to increased cardiovascular mortality, disproportionately impacting regions which have developing plastic production sectors. The findings underscore the need for urgent and local regulatory interventions to kerb mortality from DHP exposure.”
Phthalates are chemical additives used to make plastic more flexible. They are so prevalent and tenacious that researchers refer to them as “everywhere chemicals” and “forever chemicals,” meriting widespread concern from scientists.
According to a report in The Boston Globe (April 30, 2025), “In epidemiological studies, phthalates have been linked to male fertility problems, heart disease, obesity, and ADHD. The United States allows nine kinds of phthalates to be used in food packaging. They are an example of what scientists call ‘endocrine-disrupting chemicals,’ which can tweak and change the hormones in the body, causing multiple health problems.
The new study drew on surveys from around the globe that evaluated exposure to DEHP, one particular type of phthalate, through urine samples. Researchers then matched exposure to the chemical to increased risk of cardiovascular death.
They found that phthalates contributed to 13 percent of all deaths from heart disease in people between ages 55 and 64 globally. In the United States, it was around 10 percent. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide: In 2021, an estimated 20 million people died because of heart disease.
Trasande says that while 13 percent may seem like a high number, phthalate exposure may overlap with and exacerbate other risks. Phthalates are believed to create excess inflammation in the body, and they are linked with other conditions that increase heart disease mortality, such as obesity and high blood pressure. Some of the increased risk of heart disease from obesity, for example, could be from phthalates. The chemicals are also found more commonly in highly processed foods, another risk factor for death from heart disease….
For now, scientists continue to push for more monitoring of the chemicals in plastic. In most countries around the world, companies are not required to reveal chemical additives to plastics, which include things like phthalates, BPA, and flame retardants. Many of those plastics end up in low-income countries along with mountains of plastic waste for recycling or disposal.”
Read the research abstract.
