Microplastics in human lung tissue from autopsy samples collected in 1991 and 2024: a comparative post-mortem study

Summary: Background: Environmental accumulation and human exposure to microplastics MPs are increasing. It is not known whether there is a higher bioaccumulation of microplastics (MPs) in human lungs collected recently and compared with those collected decades ago. We aimed to assess changes in the presence, abundance, size, and types of MPs in human lung tissue collected 33 years apart, and to characterize histological patterns in these samples.