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A scoping review protocol on in vivo human plastic exposure and health impacts
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This scoping review protocol outlines a plan to systematically gather evidence on how plastics found inside the human body affect health. With global plastic production having generated over 6.3 billion metric tons of waste, humans are increasingly exposed to micro- and nanoplastics through food, water, and air. The review aims to map what is known — and what gaps remain — about the direct health consequences of plastic particles in human tissues.
Abstract Background Global plastic production has increased exponentially since the 1960s, with more than 6300 million metric tons of plastic waste generated to date. Studies have found a range of human health impacts associated with exposure to plastic chemicals. However, only a fraction of plastic chemicals used have been studied in vivo , and then often in animals, for acute toxicological effects. With many questions still unanswered about how long-term exposure to plastic impacts human health, there is an urgent need to map human in vivo research conducted to date, casting a broad net by searching terms for a comprehensive suite of plastic chemical exposures and the widest range of health domains. Methods This protocol describes a scoping review that will follow the recommended framework outlined in 2017 Guidance for the Conduct of Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Scoping Reviews , to be reported in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist . A literature search of primary clinical studies in English from 1960 onwards will be conducted in MEDLINE (Ovid) and EMBASE (Ovid) databases. References eligible for inclusion will be identified through a quality-controlled, multi-level screening process. Extracted data will be presented in diagrammatic and tabular form, with a narrative summary addressing the review questions. Discussion This scoping review will comprehensively map the primary research undertaken to date on plastic exposure and human health. Secondary outputs will include extensive databases on plastic chemicals and human health outcomes/impacts. Registration Open Science Framework (OSF)-Standard Pre-Data Collection Registration, https://osf.io/gbxps DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/GBXPS
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