Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

WEDNESDAY, April 2, 2025 -- Microplastic exposure may increase the risk for chronic diseases, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, held from March 29 to 31 in Chicago. Sai Rahul Ponnana, from the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland, and colleagues investigated the association between microplastic concentration in coastal regions and the prevalence of high blood pressure , diabetes, stroke, and cancer in U.S. coastal census tracts. The analysis included 555 coastal census tracts located within 200 m of the shoreline from large bodies of water. The researchers observed positive correlations between microplastic concentrations and high blood pressure (r = 0.24), diabetes (r = 0.3), and stroke (r = 0.26), while a negative association was seen for cancer (r = −0.16). These associations were significant for high blood pressure (F = 7.351), diabetes (F = 12.07), stroke (F = 8.798), and cancer (F = 3.986) in an analysis of variance. Microplastic concentration was a significant predictor of stroke prevalence, suggesting higher concentrations increase stroke risk, based on eXtreme Gradient Boosting modeling. "The environment plays a very important role in our health, especially cardiovascular health," Ponnana said in a statement. "As a result, taking care of our environment means taking care of ourselves." Press Release More Information Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

TUESDAY, April 1, 2025 -- Microplastics appear to be contributing to chronic diseases in shoreline areas of the United States, a new study suggests. High blood pressure, diabetes and stroke rates are higher in coastal or lakefront areas with greater concentrations of microplastics in the environment, researchers reported at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology (ACC). The results also suggested a dose relationship, where higher concentrations of microplastics pollution are associated with more chronic disease, researchers said. “This study provides initial evidence that microplastics exposure has an impact on cardiovascular health, especially chronic, noncommunicable conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke," lead investigator Sai Rahul Ponnana , a research data scientist at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland, said in a news release. Microplastics are tiny plastic particles as small as 1 nanometer; by comparison, a strand of human hair is about 80,000 nanometers wide. These particles are released as larger pieces of plastic break down, and can come from food and beverage packaging, consumer products and building materials, researchers said in background notes. People can be exposed to microplastics in the water they drink, the food they eat and the air they breathe. For this study, researchers linked U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data on chronic illness rates with federal data on microplastics concentrations in the sediment along coastal and lakeshore areas in 555 census tracts. The data ran from 2015 to 2019. Microplastics ranked among the top risk factors associated with chronic illness, researchers found. They considered 154 factors, including income, employment rate and air pollution. "When we included 154 different socioeconomic and environmental features in our analysis, we didn't expect microplastics to rank in the top 10 for predicting chronic noncommunicable disease prevalence,” Ponnana said. However, researchers noted that the study does not prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship between microplastics and chronic illness. More studies are needed to prove a concrete link and rule out other possible explanations. More research is also needed to determine the amount of exposure to microplastics that would have an impact on a person’s health, researchers added. In the meantime, people can help minimize microplastics exposure by reducing how much plastic they throw away. "The environment plays a very important role in our health, especially cardiovascular health," Ponnana said. "As a result, taking care of our environment means taking care of ourselves." The findings were presented Monday at the ACC’s meeting in Chicago. Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 26, 2025 -- Children with obesity have increased rates of dermatologic conditions, according to a study published online Feb. 10 in Pediatric Dermatology . Samantha Epstein and Sonal D. Shah, M.D., from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, conducted a retrospective cohort study involving children younger than 18 years with and without obesity and various dermatologic conditions and comorbidities. The researchers observed an association between childhood obesity and increased rates of all dermatologic conditions and the associated comorbidities evaluated. The most commonly associated dermatologic condition was acanthosis nigricans (risk ratio, 62.16), while the least common was acne vulgaris (risk ratio, 2.50). The incidence of dermatologic conditions trended upward, with a greater increase seen in children with obesity compared with those without obesity. Notably, from 2016 to 2023, the incidence of hidradenitis suppurativa increased by 17.18 percent. Comorbidities seen in higher proportions among children with obesity included type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, asthma, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and major depressive disorder. Compared with children without obesity with one of these comorbidities, children with obesity with hypertension, ADHD, depression, or OSA had an increased risk for every skin condition apart from rosacea. "While obese children are at increased risks for various skin conditions, children with obesity and additional comorbidities, such as diabetes, hypertension, ADHD, depression, OSA, or polycystic ovary syndrome, carry an even greater risk of certain dermatologic conditions," the authors write. "This supports the complex interplay between obesity and dermatologic health, particularly the proinflammatory effects of obesity." Abstract/Full Text Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.