Researchers have found significant amounts of microplastics in the testicles of dogs and humans, and the canine data suggest the pollutants may be linked with impaired fertility.
Overall, the researchers found 12 types of microplastics in 47 canine and 23 human testes, they reported on Wednesday in Toxicological Sciences. None of the tissues were free of plastics.
Microplastics are minuscule pieces of plastic that result from the degradation of plastic products. They are ubiquitous in the environment and have been detected in drinking water and food, and ultimately in human tissue.
In dogs, the average concentration of microplastics in testicular tissue was 122.63 micrograms per gram of tissue. In human testicles the average concentration was 329.44 micrograms per gram – significantly higher than the average concentration the researchers had found in earlier studies of placental tissue.
The most prevalent polymer in both human and canine tissue was polyethylene (PE), which is used to make plastic bags and bottles.
In the dogs, higher levels of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were linked with lower sperm count, but this was not true for PE levels.
“The plastic makes a difference – what type of plastic might be correlated with potential function,” study leader Dr. Xiaozhong “John” Yu of the University of New Mexico School of Nursing in Albuquerque said in a statement.
PVC can release a lot of chemicals that interfere with sperm production and disrupt hormones, he added.
The dog testes were obtained from veterinarians after neutering surgeries. The human tissues were obtained after autopsies.
Yu noted that the average age of the humans had been 35 years, meaning their plastics exposure began decades ago, when there was less plastic in circulation.
“The impact on the younger generation might be more concerning,” now that there is more plastic than ever in the environment, he said.
Read more about microplastics in humans on Reuters.com
