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The Overview of the Possible Exposure of Infants to Microplastics
Version 1
: Received: 1 February 2024 / Approved: 1 February 2024 / Online: 1 February 2024 (13:21:14 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Mišľanová, C.; Valachovičová, M.; Slezáková, Z. An Overview of the Possible Exposure of Infants to Microplastics. Life 2024, 14, 371. Mišľanová, C.; Valachovičová, M.; Slezáková, Z. An Overview of the Possible Exposure of Infants to Microplastics. Life 2024, 14, 371.
Abstract
Microplastics are small plastic pieces with sizes less than 5 mm. They are becoming a global concern due to the potential risk to human health. The potential risks of microplastics may be greater for infants because they do not have sufficiently developed metabolizing enzymes, have a lower ability to remove them, high sensitivity of target organs. Infants should be breastfed for the first six months of life. Breast milk is considered to be the most complete and suitable source of nutrition. However, if breastfeeding during this period is not possible, it is necessary to use formulas designed for infant initial feeding. Infants may be exposed to higher levels of MPs through infant foods or plastics products. The aim of this study is to describe the possible sources of exposure to microplastics such as human placenta, plastic feeding bottles, toys as well as the presence of released microplastics in infants feces, breast milk and infant formulas. There is still not enough data available from the studied area. Therefore, it is necessary to pay increased attention to minimizing the negative effects of microplastics on human health.
Keywords
microplastics; infants; breast milk; baby bottle; infant formula; feces
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Other
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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