Now the first data of their kind show a link between these microplastics and human health. A study of more than 200 people undergoing surgery found that nearly 60% had microplastics or even smaller nanoplastics in a main artery1. Those who did were 4.5 times more likely to experience a heart attack, a stroke or death in the approximately 34 months after the surgery than were those whose arteries were plastic-free.
This is cause for more study, and we should have already all been avoiding them. But this is nowhere near causational proof. What if microplastics are just associated with less healthy foods, or happen to concentrate in waterways that trend towards impoverished communities the same way air pollution does?
I'm terrified of plastics, and stupid already, but even I can see that this headline just isn't close to factual.