Scientists have found microplastics in human penises for the first time, as concerns over the tiny particles’ proliferation and potential health effects continue to pile up.
Microplastics are polymer fragments that can range from less than 0.2 inches (5 millimetres) down to 1/25,000th of an inch (1 micrometre). Anything smaller is a nanoplastic that must be measured in billionths of a meter. They form when larger plastics break down, either by chemically degrading or physically wearing them down into smaller pieces.
Seven different kinds of microplastics were found in four out of five samples of penis tissue taken from five different men as part of a study published in IJIR: Your Sexual Medicine Journal on Wednesday, June 19.
Some minuscule particles can invade individual cells and tissues in major organs, experts say, and evidence is mounting that they are increasingly present in our bodies.
Study lead author, Ranjith Ramasamy, working at the University of Miami said that he used a previous study that found evidence of microplastics in the human heart as a basis for his research.
Ramasamy said he wasn’t surprised to find microplastics in the penis, as it is a “very vascular organ,” like the heart.
The samples were taken from study participants who had been diagnosed with erectile dysfunction (ED) and were in the hospital to undergo surgery for penile implants to treat the condition at the University of Miami between August and September 2023.
The samples were then analyzed using chemical imaging, which revealed that four of the five men had microplastics in their penile tissue.
Seven different types of microplastics were detected, with polyethene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) being the most prevalent, according to the study.
“We need to identify whether microplastics are linked to ED and if there is a level beyond which it causes pathology and what types of microplastics are pathologic,” he said to CNN.
As for the wider implications of the findings, Ramasamy said he hoped the study would “create more awareness about the presence of foreign bodies within human organs and foster more research surrounding this topic.”
In the past, research has found that one liter of bottled water, the equivalent of two standard-size bottled waters contained an average of 240,000 plastic particles.
“I think we need to be mindful about consuming water and food from plastic bottles and containers and try and limit the use until more research is done to identify levels that could cause pathology,” Ramasamy said.
Toxicologist Matthew J. Campen added;
“As we are trying to understand the potential health effects of plastics, this is another concerning paper,” said Campen, a regents’ professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, who wasn’t involved in the research.
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“Plastics are generally non-reactive with the cells and chemicals of our bodies, but they could be physically disruptive to the many processes our bodies undertake for normal function, including functions related to erection and sperm production.”
