O'Callaghan Liam, Olsen Matthew, Tajouri Lotti, Beaver Davinia, Hudson Carly, Alghafri Rashed, McKirdy Simon, Goldsworthy Adrian
Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia.
Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2024 Aug 31. doi: 10.1038/s41370-024-00709-3.
In 2019 the World Health Organisation published a report which concluded microplastics in drinking water did not present a threat to human health. Since this time a plethora of research has emerged demonstrating the presence of plastic in various organ systems and their deleterious pathophysiological effects.
A scoping review was undertaken in line with recommendations from the Johanna Briggs Institute. Five databases (PubMed, SCOPUS, CINAHL, Web of Science and EMBASE) were systematically searched in addition to a further grey literature search.
Eighteen articles were identified, six of which investigated and characterised the presence of microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) in the human urinary tract. Microplastics were found to be present in kidney, urine and bladder cancer samples. Twelve articles investigated the effect of MNPs on human cell lines associated with the human urinary tract. These articles suggest MNPs have a cytotoxic effect, increase inflammation, decrease cell viability and alter mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signalling pathways.
Given the reported presence MNPs in human tissues and organs, these plastics may have potential health implications in bladder disease and dysfunction. As a result, institutions such as the World Health Organisation need to urgently re-evaluate their position on the threat of microplastics to public health.
This scoping review highlights the rapidly emerging threat of microplastic contamination within the human urinary tract, challenging the World Health Organisation's assertion that microplastics pose no risk to public health. The documented cytotoxic effects of microplastics, alongside their ability to induce inflammation, reduce cell viability and disrupt signalling pathways, raise significant public health concerns relating to bladder cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic urinary tract infections and incontinence. As a result, this study emphasises the pressing need for further research and policy development to address the challenges surrounding microplastic contamination.
2019年，世界卫生组织发布了一份报告，得出的结论是饮用水中的微塑料不会对人类健康构成威胁。自那时以来，大量研究表明各种器官系统中存在塑料及其有害的病理生理影响。
根据乔安娜·布里格斯研究所的建议进行了一项范围综述。除了进一步搜索灰色文献外，还系统地搜索了五个数据库（PubMed、SCOPUS、CINAHL、Web of Science和EMBASE）。
共识别出18篇文章，其中6篇研究并描述了人类泌尿系统中微塑料和纳米塑料（MNPs）的存在情况。在肾脏、尿液和膀胱癌样本中发现了微塑料。12篇文章研究了MNPs对与人类泌尿系统相关的人类细胞系的影响。这些文章表明MNPs具有细胞毒性作用，会增加炎症、降低细胞活力并改变丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPK）信号通路。
鉴于已报道人类组织和器官中存在MNPs，这些塑料可能对膀胱疾病和功能障碍具有潜在的健康影响。因此，世界卫生组织等机构需要紧急重新评估其对微塑料对公众健康威胁的立场。
本范围综述突出了人类泌尿系统中微塑料污染这一迅速出现的威胁，对世界卫生组织关于微塑料对公众健康无风险的断言提出了挑战。微塑料已记录的细胞毒性作用，以及它们诱导炎症、降低细胞活力和破坏信号通路的能力，引发了与膀胱癌、慢性肾病、慢性尿路感染和尿失禁相关的重大公共卫生问题。因此，本研究强调迫切需要进一步研究和制定政策，以应对围绕微塑料污染的挑战。
