Get Healthy!
- Posted February 27, 2025
Microplastics Might Pose Brain Risk For Coastal Residents
Microplastics could be affecting the brain health of people living in coastal areas, a new study says.
Marine microplastics -- microscopic plastic fragments smaller than 5 millimeters -- are associated with disabilities of memory, thinking and mobility, according to findings to be presented in April at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in San Diego.
People living in coastal areas with high ocean levels of microplastics also were less able to care for themselves and live independently, researchers said.
“These findings provide insights into how marine microplastics might affect brain health,” said senior researcher Dr. Sarju Ganatra, a cardiologist at Lacey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Mass.
“More research is needed to explore this connection further and examine the overall public health implications of microplastic pollution,” he added in a news release.
For the study, researchers looked at 218 coastal counties in 22 states across the U.S., sorting them into four groups based on the levels of marine microplastics in the ocean offshore.
On average, counties with very high levels had more than 1,000 microplastic fragments for every cubic meter of ocean water, while those with low levels had fewer than 10 per cubic meter.
These microplastics come from the breakdown of plastic trash in the environment, researchers said. This might include face scrubs, fishing nets, food wrappers or take-out containers.
“The environment can play a crucial role in our health, and factors such as pollution may impact a person’s risk of developing cognitive decline and other neurological disabilities,” Ganatra said.
Researchers found a 9% higher rate of memory and thinking disabilities among people living in areas with the highest levels of ocean microplastic pollution, compared to people in the least-polluted areas.
There also was a 6% higher rate of mobility disabilities among people living with heavy microplastic pollution, and a 16% higher rate of self-care disabilities, which involve difficulty performing daily activities like dressing, bathing or getting around a home.
Likewise, people living near waters with heavy microplastics pollution had an 8% higher rate of disability in independent living -- difficulties performing tasks like managing finances, shopping or using transportation.
“The amount of plastic in different areas can vary due to ocean currents, which can carry and concentrate plastic in certain regions,” Ganatra said. “Other factors, like population density, local waste management, and industrial activities, may also play a role.”
The reasons are complex, he added, "and likely involve multiple environmental- and human-related factors working together, but this relationship needs further investigation to be fully understood.”
Researchers emphasized that this study could not prove that microplastics cause disabilities, only that there may be a link.
Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Another study published earlier this month in Nature found that donated human brains contained an average of 10 grams of microplastics.
Extremely small plastic particles can pass through blood vessels and the blood-brain barrier, infiltrating themselves throughout the body.
The amount of plastic in the brain has increased by about 50% -- the equivalent of an entire plastic spoon in weight, researchers said.
“That would mean that our brains today are 99.5% brain and the rest is plastic," co-lead author Matthew Campen, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, told CNN.
Researchers also found that people with dementia had even higher levels of microplastics fragments in their brains -- three to five times more than those without dementia.
More information
The University of California-San Francisco has more on microplastics.
SOURCE: American Academy of Neurology, news release, Feb. 25, 2025
