Study Finds Microplastics in Food Can Reach Human Arteries

As Susan Gardner, Director of the Ecosystems Division at the United Nations Environment Programme, stated in June, “It’s probably safe to say that microplastics are just about everywhere.” Though even Gardner might be surprised by one place researchers found these tiny flecks of plastic. 

In a recent 2025 report, researchers from Italy published the findings of their observational study on microplastics in the human body in the New England Journal of Medicine, specifically following patients who had fatty deposits removed from arteries with blockages, along with their three-year follow-up data. 

“The production of plastics is constantly increasing, and this trajectory is set to persist until 2050,” the team stated in their work. They noted that all plastics can pollute the environment through “ocean currents, atmospheric winds, and terrestrial phenomena,” leading to a worldwide spread. “Once released into nature, plastics are susceptible to degradation, leading to the formation of microplastics, defined as particles smaller than 5 mm, and nanoplastics, particles smaller than 1000 nanometers,” far smaller than a human hair. As Food & Wine has previously reported, these microplastics can often shed from items in our kitchens, including everything from nonstick cookware to takeout containers, soda bottles, and even the sponges we use for cleaning. 

For this particular study, the researchers tracked patients who had undergone “carotid endarterectomy for asymptomatic carotid artery disease,” meaning they had plaque removed from their narrowed arteries. They analyzed that plaque for the presence of both microplastics and nanoplastics. The team also assessed for “inflammatory biomarkers” in the 257 patients involved in the final study and monitored their health outcomes over three years.

The team detected fragments of polyethylene, the most common plastic worldwide, in the carotid artery plaque of 150 patients, which accounts for 58.4% of all participants. The researchers also noted that “31 patients (12.1%) also had measurable amounts of polyvinyl chloride,” the third-most produced synthetic plastic, in their plaque. 

The researchers found that patients with carotid artery plaque containing these micro- and nanoplastics were more than four times as likely to have experienced “myocardial infarction, stroke, or death from any cause” by their 34-month follow-up compared to those without any detected microplastics or nanoplastics. 

The paper further explained that both micro- and nanoplastics can trigger “toxicologic effects” when they enter the human body through “ingestion, inhalation, and skin exposure.” They noted that preclinical models suggest these tiny plastics may now be a potential risk factor for everything from cardiovascular diseases, including “altered heart rate, cardiac-function impairment, myocardial fibrosis, and endothelial dysfunction” as they promote oxidative stress and inflammation in the body. However, the team also noted that “the clinical relevance of these findings is unknown,” and more research is needed to understand their overall impact.

Previous research has found microplastics in nearly every part of the human body, including the lungs, blood, and placenta, as well as in the liver, which could be contributing to liver damage.

“Although we do not know what other exposures may have contributed to the adverse outcomes among patients in this study, the finding of microplastics and nanoplastics in plaque tissue is itself a breakthrough discovery that raises a series of urgent questions, Philip J. Landrigan, a pediatrician and epidemiologist from Boston College, shared in an editorial about the findings. The real question now, Landrigan added, is “Should exposure to microplastics and nanoplastics be considered a cardiovascular risk factor? What organs, in addition to the heart, may be at risk? How can we reduce exposure?”