Impactos do microplástico na saúde humana e animal: uma revisão

Abstract

Introduction: Microplastics are particles smaller than five millimeters surplus from the handling of plastic objects present in the environment. Microplastics can pass from the environment into living organisms, including mammals. Objective: review the effects of microplastics on human and animal health. Material and Methods: An integrative literature review was carried out, conducted using the PICO strategy, which represents an acronym for Patient, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome. Results: studies show that in animals, microplastics can cause physical damage by obstructing the digestive system, leading to malnutrition and hunger. Furthermore, the presence of microplastics in marine environments can lead to bioaccumulation, where the concentration of particles increases as they move up the food chain. In human health, the ingestion of microplastics can cause harm to organisms through their physical presence (abrasive effects that lead to inflammation, oxidative stress and cytotoxicity), their chemical load (leaching of additives or chemicals adsorbed to the environment causing reproductive toxicity and development or invoking an immune response) or their microbial communities (pathogens that cause infection, intestinal deviations, or antimicrobial-resistant microbes that enter the body). Conclusion: the widespread presence of microplastics and their effects emphasize the urgent need for action to mitigate this form of pollution and protect both animal life, especially marine life, and human health.