Common household plastics linked to thousands of global deaths from heart disease, study finds – CTV

April 29, 2025

Synthetic chemicals called phthalates, found in consumer products such as food storage containers, shampoo, makeup, perfume and children’s toys, may have contributed to more than 10 per cent of all global mortality from heart disease in 2018 among men and women ages 55 through 64, a new study found.

“Phthalates contribute to inflammation and systemic inflammation in the coronary arteries, which can accelerate existing disease and lead to acute events including mortality,” said senior author Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a professor of pediatrics and population health at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine. He also is director of NYU Langone’s Division of Environmental Pediatrics and Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards.

“Phthalates are known to disrupt testosterone,” Trasande said, adding that in men, “low testosterone is a predictor of adult cardiovascular disease.”

Phthalates have been linked in earlier studies with reproductive problems, such as genital malformations and undescended testes in baby boys and lower sperm counts and testosterone levels in adult males. Studies have also linked phthalates to asthma, childhood obesity and cancer.

Read more: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/article/common-household-plastics-linked-to-thousands-of-global-deaths-from-heart-disease-study-finds/