A weekly roundup of public health news
Study finds microplastics in blood of most heart attack victims
People who’ve had heart attacks are more likely to have microplastics in their bloodstream, a new study says.
Published July 14 in the European Heart Journal, the research found microplastics in the blood of 84% of heart attack patients, as compared to 32% of people with healthy coronary arteries. The tiny bits of plastic, which range in size from 5 millimeters to 1 nanometer, were also detected in 40% of patients with coronary artery disease, in which people have narrow, plaque-filled blood vessels feeding their heart.
People in the study who’d had a heart attack were more likely to have a wider variety of plastics in their blood, with polyethylene the most common type. The plastic is used in a range of everyday products, from grocery bags and toys to milk jugs and food wrappings.
People who’d had heart attacks also had higher levels of inflammatory markers than other patients in the study. The highest concentrations of plastics in blood were taken from arteries supplying the heart.
The study also linked smoking and long-term air pollution exposure with higher levels of microplastics in the bloodstream. Smokers were nearly six times more likely to have microplastics in their blood than nonsmokers.
Previous research has found microplastics in plaque removed from neck arteries, where their presence was linked to a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and death. Science suggests microplastics may contribute to inflammation and damage blood vessels.
Early heat exposure may leave a lasting mark on children’s brains
Children who are exposed to warmer temperatures early in life may have slower brain development years later, new findings in Environment International show.
Researchers found that children who experienced higher-than-usual temperatures in the five months after birth and while in utero had slower growth in their thalamus, a brain region that helps process and relay sensory and motor information. The association was seen years later, between ages 9 and 15, when researchers analyzed brain scans.
The thalamus develops early in pregnancy and serves as the brain’s main communication hub, passing information between different parts of the brain. Researchers said its early development may make it especially vulnerable to heat-related changes that affect the placenta or blood flow to a fetus.
The study linked slower thalamic growth with more aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors during adolescence, but not with decreases in cognitive performance.
The findings build on earlier work by the same research team, which found that exposure to heat and cold during pregnancy and the first three years of life was associated with changes in white matter, a network of nerve fibers that carries signals throughout the brain.
Care needs rising among younger U.S. seniors
Younger U.S. seniors are increasingly not receiving all the care they need, according to a recent analysis in Health Affairs.
The study, released this month, found that adults ages 65 to 74 were more likely to have difficulty with everyday activities, rely on paid caregivers and have unmet care needs in 2022 than their peers were a decade earlier.
The share of younger-age seniors who said their care needs were not being met rose from about 11% in 2011 to nearly 14% in 2022. That translated to about 4.2 million people in 2022, nearly double the 2.2 million reported in 2011. During the same period, the percentage of the population who received paid care increased significantly.
Younger seniors today also have more activity limitations than their peers did a decade ago. The portion of adults ages 65 to 74 reporting difficulty with daily activities increased about 11%, while the number of people with activity limitations grew 74%, reaching 13.2 million in 2022.
Nearly half of all U.S. adults ages 65 and older have limitations that affect activities such as bathing, dressing, walking, shopping or managing medications. Some can continue to live independently, but others rely on family members, friends, paid caregivers or residential care — or go without the care they need.
Researchers said the findings point to growing challenges as more baby boomers reach older ages. In 2022, about half the generation’s population was between ages 65 and 74, suggesting the demand for care is likely to continue growing.
Other recent public health news of note includes:
• Rates of invasive breast cancer are rising among Asian American women, a recent study in JAMA Network Open says. Breast cancer diagnoses increased by more than 3% a year in nearly every Asian American ethnic group between 2000 and 2022, with some of the steepest increases among Chinese and Vietnamese women. The rise was especially pronounced among women younger than 50 and those diagnosed with advanced-stage or aggressive forms of the disease. Researchers said the increase is unlikely to be explained by greater screening because cancers that had already spread showed the fastest growth.
• People who live longer in areas with water contaminated by “forever chemicals” can have higher levels of the substances in their bodies, according to new findings in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology. Researchers studied hundreds of residents in Hyannis and Ayer, Massachusetts, where drinking water was contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, mainly from firefighting foam. People who had lived in the communities for more years before the water was cleaned up had higher blood levels of several types of PFAS, even seven years later. In Hyannis, residents who had lived in the area for more than 16 years had twice the level of one PFAS chemical than people who had lived there fewer than five years.
• As heat waves become more frequent, hotter and longer, more people may be hospitalized for mental health issues, new research in Nature Health suggests. The study looked at more than 2.6 million hospitalizations, finding people were more likely to be hospitalized for mental and behavioral disorders during heat waves, with risks staying high for more than a week after long periods of extreme heat. Older adults and people living in rural areas were at highest risk.
• At least 50 million people live in U.S. counties that lack radiation oncology clinics, potentially hindering their ability to access lifesaving cancer care, a new analysis in International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics says. About 430 U.S. counties lost radiation oncology clinics from 2018 to 2025, the study found. Rural clinics were 44% more likely to close than urban clinics, and freestanding community practices were 56% more likely to fold than hospital-affiliated sites. Radiation therapy is used to treat more than half of people with cancer and often requires a long schedule of daily treatments. A lack of a nearby clinic can force patients to travel long distances for care, increasing the risk that treatment will be delayed or skipped.
The Watch is written by Michele Late, who has more than two decades of experience as a public health journalist.
