(Press-News.org) Childhood exposure to chemicals used to make plastic household items presents growing health risks that can extend long into adulthood, experts from NYU Langone Health report.
This is the main conclusion after a review of hundreds of the latest studies on the topic, publishing online Sept. 21 in the journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.
The article is being released to coincide with a gathering of experts the same week in New York City to discuss the global impact of plastics on human health.
In their report, the authors outline decades of evidence that substances often added to industrial and household goods may contribute to disease and disability, particularly when they are encountered early in life. The review focuses on three classes of chemical — phthalates used to make plastic flexible, bisphenols, which provide rigidity, and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which help materials resist heat and repel water.
The results of the studies, which together assessed thousands of pregnant mothers, fetuses, and children, tied these toxins to a wide range of long-term health concerns, including heart disease, obesity, infertility, and asthma.
“Our findings point to plastic’s role in the early origins of many chronic diseases that reverberate into adolescence and adulthood,” said study lead author and pediatrician Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP. “If we want kids to stay healthy and live longer, then we need to get serious about limiting the use of these materials,” added Trasande, the Jim G. Hendrick, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
The chemicals are found in a range of items, such as food packaging, cosmetics, and paper receipts, notes Trasande, who is also a professor in the Department of Population Health. Experts have found that as plastics are used, heated, or chemically treated, microplastic and nanoparticles are released and become ingested.
Chemicals used in plastic materials have been shown to prompt an overactive immune response (inflammation) throughout the body’s tissues as well as disrupt the function of hormones that influence many bodily processes. The substances are also believed to affect brain development, with numerous studies linking early-life exposure to IQ loss and neurodevelopmental issues such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
The Lancet review also explored strategies to reduce the use of plastic and to help safeguard human health.
“There are safe, simple steps that parents can take to limit their children’s plastic exposure without breaking the bank,” said Trasande, who serves as director of NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Division of Environmental Pediatrics and NYU Langone Health’s Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards.
Replacing plastic containers with glass or stainless steel, and avoiding microwaving and dishwashing plastic, have proved helpful, he says.
Trasande adds that by offering clear guidance, health care providers can empower parents to make informed decisions about the products they use and steer them toward safer options. He also suggests that clinicians partner with schools and community organizations to engage younger generations about the health risks of plastic exposure.
At the policy level, the researchers call for stricter regulatory measures to reduce the use of nonessential plastic items, particularly in low-income communities with profound heath disparities.
Their review comes on the heels of the most recent round of negations for the United Nations’ Global Plastics Treaty, which took place in Geneva last month. The developing treaty represents an international effort to tackle plastic pollution, with more than 100 countries calling for legally binding caps on production.
According to Trasande, the findings in the article support the urgent need for a strong agreement to help protect not only the environment but human health as well.
He notes that while the economic value of the plastics industry is commonly raised as a barrier to enacting regulations, the resulting health care costs from exposure are enormous, with his research estimates reaching roughly $250 billion per year in the United States alone.
The Global Plastics Treaty will be part of the discussion during NYU Langone Health’s 2025 Plastics, Human Health, and Solutions Symposium. At the event, experts will discuss the latest research on the health impact of microplastics, recent policy developments, and the critical role of regulations in addressing this public health crisis.
Despite its health risks, plastic can play an essential role in pediatric medicine, such as its use in ventilators and feeding tubes for premature infants, nebulizers for children with asthma, and masks that help prevent the spread of infection. The findings, the researchers say, do not challenge the need for the material in health care but instead highlight the dangers of its unnecessary use elsewhere.
The symposium will be held at NYU Langone Health on Sept. 22. The event will also be live streamed on YouTube for registered attendees.
Funding for the study was provided by National Institutes of Health grants R01ES022972, R01ES029779, R01ES032214, R01ES034793, and P2CES033423. Further funding was provided by several Argentinian foundations as well as the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia.
Along with Trasande, Marina Olga Fernandez, PhD, at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research in Buenos Aires, Argentina, serves as study senior author.
Another study co-investigator is Aleksandra Buha Đorđević, PhD, at the University of Belgrade in Serbia.
###
About NYU Langone Health
NYU Langone Health is a fully integrated health system that consistently achieves the best patient outcomes through a rigorous focus on quality that has resulted in some of the lowest mortality rates in the nation. Vizient, Inc., has ranked NYU Langone No. 1 out of 118 comprehensive academic medical centers across the nation for four years in a row, and U.S. News & World Report recently ranked four of its clinical specialties number one in the nation. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services with one high standard of care across seven inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 320 outpatient locations in the New York area and Florida. With $14.2 billion in revenue this year, the system also includes two tuition-free medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise.
Media Inquiries
Shira Polan
Phone: 212-404-4279
Shira.Polan@NYULangone.org
END
Scientists call for urgent action to reduce children’s plastic exposure
2025-09-21
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Our actions are dictated by “autopilot”, not choice, finds new study
2025-09-21
Habit, not conscious choice, drives most of our actions, according to new research from the University of Surrey, University of South Carolina and Central Queensland University.
The research, published in Psychology & Health, found that two-thirds of our daily behaviours are initiated “on autopilot”, out of habit.
Habits are actions that we are automatically prompted to do when we encounter everyday settings, due to associations that we have learned between those settings and our usual responses to them.
The research also found that 46% of behaviours were both triggered by habit and aligned with ...
Cardboard and earth reshape sustainable construction
2025-09-21
Engineers in Australia have developed a new building material with about one quarter of concrete’s carbon footprint, while reducing waste going to landfill.
This innovative material, called cardboard-confined rammed earth, is composed entirely of cardboard, water and soil – making it reusable and recyclable.
In Australia alone, more than 2.2 million tons of cardboard and paper are sent to landfill each year. Meanwhile, cement and concrete production account for about 8% of annual global emissions.
Cardboard has previously been used in temporary structures and disaster shelters, such as Shigeru Ban’s iconic Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Inspired ...
New biochar breakthrough offers hope for cleaner, safer farmland soils
2025-09-19
Agricultural soils across the world are increasingly polluted by heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, chromium, and arsenic. These toxic elements, often introduced through industrial wastewater, fertilizers, and manure, can accumulate in crops and threaten human health through the food chain. Long-term exposure is linked to kidney damage, osteoporosis, and even cancer. Protecting soil health and food safety has therefore become an urgent global challenge.
In a new study published in Agricultural ...
The future of obesity management – quintuple and other super polyagonists for weight loss and maintenance?
2025-09-19
Much excitement has built in recent years on the new class of incretin drugs that include glucagon-like-peptide-1 inhibitor (single agonists such as semaglutide) and also dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and GLP-1 receptor agonists (dual agonists such tirzepatide). Billions of dollars is now being poured into research to develop new anti-obesity medications that exhibit stronger effects while minimising side-effect profiles.
But the excitement is not just limited to existing mono- and dual-agonists. In a session at this year’s Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes ...
$3.6M NIH grant to study brain patterns in children with ADHD, behavior problems
2025-09-19
HERSHEY, Pa. — Approximately 7 million children in the United States between the ages of three and 17 have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. Up to 50% of children with ADHD also have severe problems with impulsive aggression and persistent irritability, according to James Waxmonsky, professor of psychiatry and University Chair in Child Psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine. These children can experience intense and extended emotional ...
Heart and hope: Study shows promising quality of life for those with Down syndrome and congenital heart defects
2025-09-19
Adults with both Down Syndrome and congenital heart defects, also known as congenital heart disease (CHD), are showing remarkable resilience despite facing significant medical challenges, according to a new MUSC study in Pediatric Cardiology. The study found that adults ages 18 to 45 with both conditions are just as likely to work, volunteer and experience the same quality of life as those with Down Syndrome alone.
The study was conducted through the Pediatric Heart Network, a consortium of leading children’s hospitals that includes ...
Community Notes help reduce the virality of false information on X, study finds
2025-09-19
In 2022, after Elon Musk bought what’s now X, the company laid off 80% of its content moderation team and made Community Notes the platform’s main form of fact-checking. Previously a pilot program at Twitter, Community Notes lets users propose attaching a comment to a specific post — usually to add context or correct an inaccurate fact. If other users with diverse views vote that the comment is useful, as measured by X’s algorithm, then the note is appended to the post. Other social media platforms, including Meta and YouTube, have since followed.
A University of Washington-led study of X found that posts with Community Notes attached were less prone ...
U of A and UNM win joint $43.6M NIH award to help turn clinical research into practical medicine
2025-09-19
TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Arizona and the University of New Mexico received a seven-year, $43.6 million federal grant to fund a broad range of research programs aimed at improving the health of people living in Arizona and New Mexico, while also training a new generation of scientists and staff.
The Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences will fund the new Southwest Center for Advancing Clinical and Translational Innovation, or SW CACTI. The National Institutes of Health CTSA consortium includes 61 of the leading academic research centers in the country. ...
Peace talks between Türkiye and the PKK offer a historic opportunity for environmental restoration
2025-09-19
Richmond Hill, Canada, 19 September 2025 - For nearly half a century, the conflict between Türkiye and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has not only killed tens of thousands of people but also caused deforestation, pollution, and land degradation in the region. The recent call by the incarcerated PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan for the group to disarm and dissolve offers a rare prospect for peace and order.
A new publication by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment ...
Bio-based PEF shows exceptional hydrogen barrier potential for high-pressure storage
2025-09-19
Ningbo / Qingdao, 18 September 2025 — A new computational study reveals that polyethylene furanoate (PEF) — a bio-based polyester — has markedly stronger resistance to hydrogen permeation than commonly used polyamide 6 (PA6) and polyethylene (PE). The work, published in AI & Materials, uses density functional theory (DFT), revised force-field molecular dynamics (MD), Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC), and nudged elastic band (NEB) calculations to quantify the crystallographic origins of PEF’s superior barrier performance, pointing ...