The Guardian - As well as the link to IBD, the scientists found that people who tended to drink bottled water or eat takeaway food had about double the concentration of microplastics in their stools. In total, 15 different types of plastic were found among the microplastics. The most common were PET, used on water bottles and food containers and polyamide, which is also found in food packaging.
The level of microplastics in the faeces was similar to those in the few previous studies conducted, once differences in methodology are taken into account. One study found infants had more microplastics than adults in their faeces. This may be due to infants chewing plastic items or use of milk bottles which are known to shed millions of microplastics.
Diet and environmental factors can trigger or exacerbate IBD, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. "In recent years, the prevalence of IBD has sharply increased in developing countries in Asia," said the researchers from Nanjing University in China. "It is estimated that there will be 1.5 million IBD patients in China by 2025 which will cause a serious disease burden."
"This study provides evidence that we are indeed ingesting microplastics," said Evangelos Danopoulos at Hull York Medical school in the UK, who was not part of the study team. "It is an important study, as it widens the evidence base for human exposures. More data about possible confounding factors is needed to build a causal association to specific human health conditions."
The level of microplastics in the faeces was similar to those in the few previous studies conducted, once differences in methodology are taken into account. One study found infants had more microplastics than adults in their faeces. This may be due to infants chewing plastic items or use of milk bottles which are known to shed millions of microplastics.
Diet and environmental factors can trigger or exacerbate IBD, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. "In recent years, the prevalence of IBD has sharply increased in developing countries in Asia," said the researchers from Nanjing University in China. "It is estimated that there will be 1.5 million IBD patients in China by 2025 which will cause a serious disease burden."
"This study provides evidence that we are indeed ingesting microplastics," said Evangelos Danopoulos at Hull York Medical school in the UK, who was not part of the study team. "It is an important study, as it widens the evidence base for human exposures. More data about possible confounding factors is needed to build a causal association to specific human health conditions."
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