Plastic induced urinary tract disease and dysfunction

A new study challenges a 2019 World Health Organization report that microplastics in drinking water are harmless after confirming their presence in kidney, urine and bladder cancer samples.

The scoping review led by researchers from Bond University looked at 18 previous studies to assess the presence of microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics in the urinary tract. They found the contaminants were in 54% of urine samples, 70% of kidney samples and 68% of bladder cancer cases.

The review concluded that the plastic debris harmed human urinary tract cells by causing toxicity and inflammation, reducing cell survival. They also disrupt MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signaling, a process that helps cells respond to growth signals and stress.

"This scoping review highlights the rapidly emerging threat of microplastic contamination within the human urinary tract, challenging the World Health Organization's assertion that microplastics pose no risk to public health," the authors wrote.

The documented cytotoxic effects of microplastics, alongside their ability to induce inflammation, reduce cell viability and disrupt signaling pathways, raise significant public health concerns relating to bladder cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic urinary tract infections and incontinence.

As a result, this study emphasizes the pressing need for further research and policy development to address the challenges surrounding microplastic contamination.

Beyond the well-documented environmental impacts of microplastics, there is emerging evidence that their presence within human organ systems is driving diseases and health issues.

The researchers were particularly interested in microplastics' effects on the urinary tract because an estimated 404.61 million urinary tract infections occurred in 2019 alone, resulting in more than 236,000 deaths.

The researchers say, it 's impossible to avoid microplastics now.

"We're drinking them, we're eating them, we're breathing them in. They can be absorbed through the skin".

When you heat up plastic containers there can be millions of these tiny microplastics that leach into the food. You might filter your water but if that filter is made of plastic, over time it is going to start to degrade and pollute the water you're drinking.

Even tea bags—they're coated in plastic so the paper doesn't disintegrate when you pour in boiling water, and these bags can release billions of plastic particles into your tea.

Using glass or steel  containers  and avoiding food packaging were ways to minimize exposure to microplastics.

'Why are we wrapping everything in plastic in the shops?', the researchers are asking. Does fresh produce really need to be wrapped in plastic, or could we just sell it all without the unnecessary packaging?

Think about it.

Microplastic bioaccumulation. Credit: Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41370-024-00709-3

Liam O'Callaghan et al, Plastic induced urinary tract disease and dysfunction: a scoping review, Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41370-024-00709-3