A recent study revealed that the average person consumes plastic in an amount that would be equivalent to a credit card per week, since plastics can be introduced into our body in numerous ways, from drinking in water bottles made with this material, breathing particles present in the air or eating foods heated in plastic containers. The authors also highlight that it is currently practically impossible for people to avoid ingesting microplastics.
Now, a team of public health researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in China has found microplastics in the semen of each of the samples from 36 healthy adult men they analyzed. Their findings have been published in the journal Science of the Total Environment and They add to those of another study carried out a few weeks ago by scientists from the University of New Mexico that detected significant concentrations of microplastics in the testicular tissue of both humans and dogs, which adds to the growing concern about their possible effect on health human reproductive
Previous research has shown that microplastics are almost everywhere; on mountain tops, on remote islands, in the upper atmosphere and in the depths of oceans around the world. They have also been found in all organs of the human body, but their impact on long-term health remains unknown, which is why many scientists are researching it. It is suspected that the ingestion of these substances may be one of the causes of many inflammatory diseases, since it has been proven that they affect the intestinal microbiota, and that they could also alter reproductive function.
Ingesting microplastics could affect fertility
Researchers at the University of New Mexico, led by Dr. Xiaozhong “John” Yu, a professor in the university’s College of Nursing, found 12 types of microplastics in 47 canine and 23 human testicle samples. Additionally, they quantified the amount of microplastics in the tissue samples using a novel analytical method that showed correlations between certain types of plastic and reduced sperm count in the canine samples. Yu, who researches the impact of various environmental factors on the human reproductive system, explained that heavy metals, pesticides and endocrine-disrupting chemicals have been implicated in the global decline in sperm count and quality in recent years.
“The type of plastic makes a difference. “PVC can release many chemicals that interfere with spermatogenesis and contains chemicals that cause endocrine disruption.”
Each of the samples was prepared by mixing it with a chemical solution and then filtered for analysis by a member of the team using a microscope. The researchers found microplastics in each sample and also detected eight types of plastics, the most common of which was polystyrene, commonly used in packaging foam. The team also found lower sperm motility in semen samples that contained pieces of polyvinyl chloride plastic, a finding that may help explain the decline in fertility rates.
