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Elevated Microplastic Particles Are Detected in the Plasma of Patients With Pulmonary Embolism and is Correlated With Simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index
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Researchers measured microplastic particles in the blood of patients diagnosed with pulmonary embolism (PE) and found significantly elevated levels compared to controls, with a positive correlation to disease severity as measured by the Simplified PE Severity Index. The findings suggest microplastic exposure may be a novel environmental risk factor for pulmonary embolism.
Abstract RATIONALE: Pulmonary Embolism (PE) is a high-mortality disease with a significant incidence worldwide. Environmental microplastic exposure has been strongly associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, including deep vein thrombosis in the lower extremities. This study investigated the blood exposure of microplastic in patients with PE and analyzed the correlation with Simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index, aiming to reveal that exposure to microplastic may be a potential etiology for PE.METHODS: This study is a cross-sectional observational study which recruited 27 Patients diagnosed with PE in Shanghai East Hospital from 2022 to 2023 and 24 healthy controls as control group. Peripheral blood was collected respectively after inform consent was obtained. Using Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS), we quantified the plasma levels of five microplastic particles including polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA). Statistical analyses were conducted to compare differences of these microplastics between the two groups. Furthermore, correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between the levels of the five microplastic components and the risk of PE, as indicated by the simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (sPESI) score.RESULTS: Plasma levels of PE (1.429±0.6940 VS. 0.4996±0.3337μg/ml,P<0.0001), PP (0.4181±0.2111 VS. 0.2100±0.2293μg/ml,P=0.0015), PS (1.407±0.8562 VS. 0.3896±0.2399μg/ml,P<0.0001), PET (0.2711±0.1197 VS. 0.1867±0.1334μg/ml,P=0.0211), and PMMA(0.1781±0.1129 VS. 0.0321±0.0335μg/ml,P<0.0001) were significantly higher in PE patients compared to healthy controls. Among these, the differences in PE, PS, and PMMA were particularly notable. Further binary logistic regression analysis examined the association between these markers and PE incidence, revealing a strong positive correlation: higher serum concentrations of PE (OR 11.446-1562.751), PP (OR 5.138-3094.475), PS (OR 11.258-4114.692), PET (OR 2.470-62294.356), and PMMA (OR 3.9719E+10-1.98E+42) were associated with an increased likelihood of PE. Additionally, correlation analysis of PE, PS, and PMMA levels with the sPESI score demonstrated a significant positive correlation between PS levels and sPESI scores (r=0.6636, P=0.0002)(as shown in figure 1). CONCLUSION: This study provides an association between blood exposure to microplastics and the incidence of PE, indicating that higher plasma levels of microplastic especially PS correlate with an increased risk of both PE and high-risk PE.
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