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Relationship between micro- and nanosized plastics in cord blood and birth weight and gestational age of newborns.
Summary
Tiny plastic particles were found in the umbilical cord blood of 151 newborns, with common plastics like polyethylene (used in bags and bottles) and polystyrene (used in foam containers) showing up in over 80% of samples. Babies with higher levels of these combined plastics in their cord blood tended to be born smaller (lower birth weight, shorter length, smaller head size) and slightly earlier than babies with lower exposure. This suggests plastic pollution may be reaching babies before birth and could affect how they grow in the womb, though more research is needed to confirm this and understand exactly why it happens.
Pervasive detection of micro- and nanosized plastics (MNPs) in biosphere and their potential human health impacts have raised significant public and scientific concerns. Despite growing evidence of MNP presence in human cord blood, their effects on fetal development and birth outcomes remain poorly understood. This study investigated the occurrence and concentrations of 11 types of MNPs in 151 umbilical cord blood samples using pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and evaluated their associations with neonatal birth size and gestational age. Results showed that polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), and polycarbonate were detected in over 80% of cord blood samples, with PE being the most abundant (mean 4.79 μg/g) MNP, followed by PS (1.81 μg/g) and PP (0.89 μg/g). Quantile-based g-computation showed that combined exposure to MNPs was negatively correlated with birth weight (β = -29.4, 95% CI -51.5, -7.72; p = 0.028), birth length (β = -0.17, 95% CI -0.29, -0.059; p = 0.023), head circumference (β = -0.23, 95% CI -0.30, -0.15; p = 0.016), and thoracic circumference (β = -0.15, 95% CI -0.26, -0.050; p = 0.039) of infants. Mixture exposure to MNPs was also negatively correlated with gestational age (β = -0.26, 95% CI -0.41, -0.11; p = 0.018), and PE and PS served as the primary contributors. These findings deepen the understanding of the risks that exposure to certain MNPs may pose to a developing fetus.