Plasticosis

Plasticosis is a form of fibrotic scarring that is caused by small pieces of plastic which inflame the digestive tract.

A 2023 study by Hayley Charlton-Howard, Alex Bond, Jack Rivers-Auty, and Jennifer Lavers, found that plastic pollution caused disease in seabirds.

Repeated injuries, chronic inflammation and repair are susceptible to fibrosis where an accidental excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix components, such as the collagen is produced by fibroblasts, leading to the formation of a permanent fibrotic scar.

Plastic-induced fibrosis has been previously demonstrated in recent laboratory studies, in organs such as the heart, liver, ovaries, and uterus.

Plasticosis has been compared to asbestosis and silicosis, where plastic acts a similar persistent irritant leading to fibrosis.