Papers

61,005 results
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Systematic Review Tier 1

Systematic Review on Air Pollution and its Adverse Effects

This systematic review found that inhaled microplastics can penetrate deep into human tissues and release chemicals like bisphenol A and phthalates that cause cardiovascular, neurological, and immune system damage. Children face disproportionately higher risks because they breathe closer to the ground where microplastic concentrations are elevated, and their developing bodies are more sensitive to these contaminants. The review highlights airborne microplastics as a significant and underappreciated pathway of human exposure alongside dietary ingestion.

2021 International Journal of Zoological Investigations 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure to environmental xenobiotics and lung tissue function: A comprehensive review on biological mechanisms and pathways

This comprehensive review examines how environmental pollutants including microplastics, heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds damage lung tissue through mechanisms like oxidative stress, inflammation, and disruption of cellular barriers. The study suggests these pollutants contribute to chronic respiratory diseases and highlights how they can also cause epigenetic changes that may affect future generations.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Review of Urban Air Pollution and Health

This narrative review synthesizes evidence on urban air pollution and its health impacts, covering traditional pollutants like particulate matter and nitrogen oxides as well as emerging contaminants such as microplastics. The study highlights consistent links between air pollution and cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, and immune health outcomes, with children, older adults, and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups identified as particularly vulnerable.

2026 IDOSR JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Systematic Review Tier 1

A systematic review of the effects of airborne microplastic contamination on human lungs

This systematic review summarizes research showing that airborne microplastics have a negative effect on human lungs. Humans are estimated to inhale roughly 100,000 fine plastic particles every day, and the evidence suggests this exposure contributes to respiratory health problems, underscoring the need for policies to reduce plastic pollution in the air we breathe.

2024 African Journal of Reproductive Health 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid of Chinese Children: Associations with Age, City Development, and Disease Features

Microplastics were detected in nearly 90% of lung fluid samples from Chinese children with respiratory diseases, with an average of about 4 particles per 10 milliliters. Younger children and those living in more developed urban areas had higher levels, likely due to more indoor crawling behavior and greater surrounding plastic use. This is significant because it confirms that children are inhaling microplastics into their lungs, and younger children may be especially vulnerable.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 76 citations
Article Tier 2

Protecting our future: environmental hazards and children’s health in the face of environmental threats: a comprehensive overview

This comprehensive review examines the range of environmental hazards that affect children's health, from air pollution and heavy metals to microplastics and electromagnetic waves. Evidence indicates that children are especially vulnerable because their bodies are still developing and they have proportionally greater exposure relative to their size. The authors call for stronger protective measures and more research on how combined environmental exposures affect child development.

2024 Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and its Harmful Effects on Humans: A Review

This review examines how inhaled microplastic particles can penetrate deep into human tissue and enter the bloodstream, potentially contributing to cardiovascular disease, neurological impairment, immune dysfunction, and cancer, with children facing disproportionately higher risks due to greater air intake relative to body weight.

2023 International Journal of Zoological Investigations 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Pollution and Child Health: A Narrative Review of Micro- and Nanoplastics, Additives, and Developmental Risks

This narrative review examines the health risks that micro- and nanoplastics and plastic additives pose specifically to children, who are considered the most vulnerable population due to their developing bodies and higher exposure rates relative to body weight. Researchers found that exposure begins in the womb, with plastic particles detected in placental tissue, amniotic fluid, and cord blood. Evidence suggests potential adverse effects on children's development, including altered puberty, respiratory conditions, neurodevelopmental impacts, and metabolic disorders, though the authors note that more research is needed.

2025 Journal of Clinical Medicine 1 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Air Pollution Microplastics with the Potential Risk of Lung Disease: A Systematic Review

This systematic review of 20 studies found that airborne microplastics, present in both indoor and outdoor air, can reach deep into the lungs when inhaled. Their accumulation in lung tissue may cause oxidative stress, inflammation, and damage to the lung's protective lining, raising concerns about respiratory diseases from chronic exposure to plastic-contaminated air.

2025 Journal of Environmental Health and Sustainable Development
Article Tier 2

Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Pollutants

This review examines health effects of environmental pollutants, covering both traditional contaminants like particulate matter and heavy metals and emerging pollutants like nanoparticles and microplastics, synthesizing evidence that these diverse pollutants cause overlapping adverse health outcomes.

2025
Systematic Review Tier 1

Deleterious effects of microplastics and nanoplastics on rodent lungs: a systematic review

This systematic review summarizes research on how inhaled micro- and nanoplastics affect the lungs in animal studies. The findings show these particles can cause lung inflammation, tissue damage, and immune responses, suggesting that breathing in airborne microplastics may pose real risks to respiratory health.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastic exposure in the lungs of young children and its associations with allergic rhinitis: A cross-sectional study in China

Researchers measured microplastics in lung fluid collected from 207 children in China and found that higher concentrations of certain plastics, particularly polyamide 66, were associated with increased rates of allergic rhinitis. The association was strongest in children aged six and under. The study suggests that microplastic exposure in young lungs may be linked to a higher risk of allergic respiratory conditions in early childhood.

2025 Eco-Environment & Health 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic and plastic pollution: impact on respiratory disease and health

This review pulls together evidence from lab studies, animal experiments, and workplace exposure research showing that inhaled micro- and nanoplastics can affect lung tissue and may contribute to respiratory diseases. However, the authors stress that it remains unclear how much damage occurs at the levels of plastic particles people actually breathe in daily life, highlighting the need for better measurements of real-world exposure.

2024 European Respiratory Review 88 citations
Review Tier 2

Airborne microplastics and their impact on human health: A critical review

This review analyzes the growing body of research on microplastics floating in indoor and outdoor air and their potential effects on human health. Evidence indicates that inhaled microplastics can trigger inflammatory responses and cellular damage in the lungs, liver, and reproductive system, and may carry toxic additives deeper into the body. The authors call for more interdisciplinary research to understand the long-term health implications of breathing in these tiny plastic particles.

2025 Journal of Environmental Sciences 3 citations
Article Tier 2

An emerging class of air pollutants: Potential effects of microplastics to respiratory human health?

This review explores the emerging concern that airborne microplastics can be inhaled by humans, potentially causing adverse effects on the respiratory system. Researchers compiled available data on the concentration, size, shape, and chemical composition of microplastic particles found in urban air. The findings suggest that airborne plastic debris represents a largely understudied class of air pollutant with potential implications for human health.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 406 citations
Article Tier 2

A comprehensive examination of the impact of environmental pollution on lung cancer: A review

This review examined how environmental pollutants, including fine particulate matter, heavy metals, and microplastics, contribute to lung cancer risk through various biological pathways. Researchers found that these pollutants can trigger inflammation, DNA damage, and disruption of cellular signaling that promotes tumor growth. The study emphasizes that understanding these mechanisms is essential for developing better prevention strategies against pollution-related lung cancer.

2025 Journal of Advanced Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Airborne Microplastics and its Impact to Environmental Health

This review compiles recent findings on airborne microplastics, examining their sources, transport pathways, and potential health effects. The study highlights that airborne microplastics can travel long distances through atmospheric currents, contaminating both urban and remote environments, and that inhalation may contribute to respiratory disorders, particularly among vulnerable populations.

2025 Water Air & Soil Pollution 1 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

The Effect of Nanoplastics and Microplastics on Lung Morphology and Physiology: a Systematic Review

This systematic review examines how inhaled microplastics and nanoplastics affect lung structure and function. The research found that indoor microplastic concentrations are often higher than outdoor levels due to household materials shedding fibers, and that inhaled particles can accumulate in different parts of the lungs. These findings suggest that breathing in plastic particles at home and work could contribute to respiratory health problems over time.

2024 The Medical and Ecological Problems 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Human Exposure to Airborne Microplastics: A Study on Detection and Potential Health Effects Using BAL Fluid

This study detected inhaled microplastics in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from the lower respiratory tract of human patients and found associations between microplastic presence and markers of lung inflammation and impaired lung function.

2025 Journal of Pharmacy And Bioallied Sciences
Article Tier 2

Airborne micro- and nanoplastics: emerging causes of respiratory diseases

This review examines growing evidence that tiny airborne plastic particles can enter the lungs and trigger or worsen respiratory diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung inflammation. The smallest nanoplastics are especially concerning because they can penetrate deep into lung tissue and even enter the bloodstream, yet research on airborne plastic health effects significantly lags behind studies on waterborne exposure.

2024 Particle and Fibre Toxicology 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as an emerging threat to human health: An overview of potential health impacts

This review provides a broad overview of how microplastics enter the body through food, air, and skin contact, and have been found in human tissues including the placenta, blood, lungs, and reproductive organs. Children face especially high risk due to hand-to-mouth behaviors and faster breathing rates relative to their body size, making them more susceptible to microplastic exposure and its potential toxic effects.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Independent and combined associations of multiple heavy metal exposure with lung function: A population-based study in US children

This population-based study of over 1,200 US children found that combined exposure to 12 urinary metals significantly reduced lung function across all measured parameters, with lead identified as the largest individual contributor to respiratory harm.

2023 Research Square (Research Square) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Environmental Pollutants on Neurological Disorders

This review examines how environmental pollutants — including heavy metals, pesticides, and plastic-associated chemicals — contribute to rising rates of neurological disorders, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Exposure to these pollutants affects even unborn children in the womb, highlighting the need for pollution reduction as a public health priority.

2021 MARKHOR (The Journal of Zoology) 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Air pollution and its impacts on health: Focus on microplastics and nanoplastics

This review summarizes how airborne micro- and nanoplastics enter the body through breathing, eating, and skin contact, contributing to health risks alongside traditional air pollutants. Plastic particles have been found in human blood, vein tissues, and lungs, and their presence in fine particulate matter in urban air may worsen the inflammation, oxidative stress, and respiratory and heart disease risks already associated with air pollution.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 17 citations