Cancer-Causing Microplastics Found in 100% of Men's Testicles: Study

According to a new study reported by the Daily Mail, microplastics that cause dangerous diseases like cancer have been found in human testicles. Scientists from the University of New Mexico discovered 12 types of microplastics in all 23 human testicles studied.

According to the data, global sperm counts have gone down by 59% in the past few decades due to the use of gadgets like smart mobile phones in pants pockets and vape pens. The author stated that he doesn't want people to be scared by publishing this study; instead, he wants to warn about the facts that the new study has found.

'"We don't want to scare people,' the study's lead author said. 'We want to scientifically provide the data and make people aware," he said.

The team of researchers noted that there were 12 types of plastics found in men's testicles: a polymer material, polyethene, used in plastic bags and bottles. The average human concentration was 329.44 micrograms per gram of tissue — vastly more than recent studies of human blood, which came to only tens of micrograms per gram.

Microplastic particles, which are smaller than five millimetres in size, enter our bodies through plastic packaging, certain food, tap water and even the air we breathe - and have been linked to cancer and fertility issues.

'There are a lot of microplastics,' the study's lead author, Dr. Xiaozhong John Yu, noted. 'We can make our own choices to better avoid exposures, change our lifestyle and change our behaviour.' Dr Yu started his research after his colleague, a professor in the university's pharmacy college named Matthew Campen, found alarming concentrations of microplastics in human placentas.

Dr. Yu noted that the presence of invisible microplastics in placentas, so close to unborn children during pregnancy, led them both to wonder how else microplastics might be impacting reproduction. According to the DH report, Dr. Yu and his team noticed that the concentration of microplastics in the human male testicular tissue was significantly higher than the average Campen found in placental tissue. 

For the research purpose, scientist and his team anonymized human male testicular tissue had been obtained from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator for the new study. The study also investigated at tissue from dogs, which showed that the volume of microplastics scaled directly to lower sperm counts in dogs.

At the beginning, I doubted whether microplastics could penetrate the reproductive system,' Dr. Yu said of his research, published in the journal Toxicological Sciences, reported by Daily Mail. 

"When I first received the results for dogs, I was surprised. I was even more surprised when I received the results for humans," said Dr. Yu.

The study published in November 2022 in the journal Human Reproduction Update found that mean sperm count had plummeted by 51.6% between 1973 and 2018 globally. This study was conducted by reviewing tabulated data from men in 53 countries.

Also Read | Covid-19 May Temporarily Affect Sperm Quality, Finds Study.

Dr Yu said that the presence of PVC plastic in particles was quite alarming. "PVC can release a lot of chemicals that interfere with spermatogenesis [the creation of sperm in the testes and it contains chemicals that cause endocrine disruption," he said.

The health consequences of microplastics in people have gained more attention in recent years, as studies have shown the particles appear to contribute to inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatic cancer and Alzheimer's disease.