Jinesh Sandhya, Aditi Prerana
CVS Health, Trumbull, CT, 06611, USA.
Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Mahayogi Gorakhnath University, Gorakhpur, UP, India.
Int J Womens Health. 2025 Sep 1;17:2805-2818. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S497366. eCollection 2025.
Microplastics (MPs), defined as plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, have emerged as a significant environmental pollutant, raising concerns about their potential health risks. Emerging evidence shows that MPs can reach human tissues, including the placenta, causing oxidative stress, inflammation, and endocrine disruption These issues are particularly concerning for vulnerable populations like pregnant women and infants, where exposure could negatively impact fetal development and health outcomes. This systematic review, adhering to PRISMA guidelines, aimed to identify and evaluate studies on the impact of microplastic exposure on pregnancy outcomes and early childhood development. A comprehensive search of databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, Medline, and others, along with grey literature and citation searches, was conducted. The review focused on peer-reviewed articles published within the last decade involving human subjects such as newborns, infants, and pregnant women. The systematic search initially identified 328 studies, of which 200 were screened after removing 128 duplicates. From these, 64 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, and ultimately, 13 studies were included in the final review. Among these, six studies had a low risk of bias, five a moderate risk, and two a high risk of bias. The sample sizes across the studies ranged from 2 to 43 participants, and the most frequently analysed biological material was the placenta (10 out of 13 studies). Microplastics such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) were most detected, appearing in 11 and 10 studies, respectively. Significant associations were observed between microplastic exposure and adverse health outcomes, including reduced birth weight, shortened gestational age, and altered microbiota composition. Methodological variability and potential biases were identified as limitations. Given the increasing global prevalence of microplastic pollution, understanding its health impacts on vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and infants is critical, providing the first comprehensive synthesis of evidence in this area.
微塑料（MPs）被定义为直径小于5毫米的塑料颗粒，已成为一种重要的环境污染物，引发了人们对其潜在健康风险的担忧。新出现的证据表明，微塑料可以进入人体组织，包括胎盘，从而导致氧化应激、炎症和内分泌紊乱。这些问题对于孕妇和婴儿等弱势群体尤为令人担忧，因为接触微塑料可能会对胎儿发育和健康结果产生负面影响。本系统综述遵循PRISMA指南，旨在识别和评估关于微塑料暴露对妊娠结局和儿童早期发育影响的研究。我们对包括Scopus、Web of Science、Medline等在内的数据库进行了全面搜索，并进行了灰色文献和引文搜索。该综述聚焦于过去十年内发表的涉及新生儿、婴儿和孕妇等人类受试者的同行评审文章。系统搜索最初识别出328项研究，去除128项重复项后，对其中200项进行了筛选。从这些研究中，评估了64篇全文文章的 eligibility，最终，13项研究被纳入最终综述。其中，6项研究的偏倚风险较低，5项为中度风险，2项为高风险。各项研究的样本量从2至43名参与者不等，最常分析的生物材料是胎盘（13项研究中有10项）。最常检测到的微塑料如聚乙烯（PE）和聚丙烯（PP），分别出现在11项和10项研究中。微塑料暴露与不良健康结果之间存在显著关联，包括出生体重降低、孕周缩短和微生物群组成改变。方法学的变异性和潜在偏倚被确定为局限性。鉴于全球微塑料污染的日益普遍，了解其对孕妇和婴儿等弱势群体的健康影响至关重要，本文首次对该领域的证据进行了全面综合。
