Microplastics in drinking water and gut microbiome dysbiosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
1
Faculty of medicine, south valley university, qena, egypt., Qena, Egypt
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
microplastics contamination in drinking water is a growing global concern. preliminary studies suggest ingestion of microplastics may alter gut microbiome composition, promoting inflammation and metabolic dysregulation. however, no systematic review has synthesized the association between microplastics exposure and human gut microbiome dysbiosis. this study aimed to evaluate existing evidence and quantify potential effects of microplastics on gut microbial diversity and key metabolic markers.
METHODS:
we systematically searched pubmed, embas, web of science, scopus, and medline from inception to december 2025 for observational and experimental studies examining microplastics exposure through drinking water and gut microbiome outcomes in humans or human-derived models. two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias using robins-i and modified cochrane tools. random-effects meta-analyses were conducted to estimate pooled effect sizes for changes in alpha diversity, abundance of major bacterial phyla, short-chain fatty acids, and markers of gut inflammation. subgroup analyses explored age, geographic region, microplastic size, and exposure duration.
RESULTS:
twelve studies involving 1480 participants and 27 in vitro/ex vivo human-derived models met inclusion criteria. preliminary pooled analyses suggest microplastic ingestion is associated with decreased gut microbiome alpha diversity (standardized mean difference −0.42, 95% ci −0.65 to −0.19) and relative enrichment of pro-inflammatory taxa, including enterobacteriaceae and firmicutes:bacteroidetes ratio alteration. evidence also indicated reductions in short-chain fatty acids and increased gut inflammation markers. heterogeneity was moderate (i²=53%) and results remained consistent in sensitivity analyses.
CONCLUSIONS:
microplastics in drinking water may contribute to gut microbiome dysbiosis, with potential implications for inflammation and metabolic health. these findings highlight an urgent need for large-scale epidemiological studies and regulatory strategies to mitigate microplastic contamination. monitoring microplastic exposure should be integrated into environmental and public health risk assessments.
microplastics contamination in drinking water is a growing global concern. preliminary studies suggest ingestion of microplastics may alter gut microbiome composition, promoting inflammation and metabolic dysregulation. however, no systematic review has synthesized the association between microplastics exposure and human gut microbiome dysbiosis. this study aimed to evaluate existing evidence and quantify potential effects of microplastics on gut microbial diversity and key metabolic markers.
METHODS:
we systematically searched pubmed, embas, web of science, scopus, and medline from inception to december 2025 for observational and experimental studies examining microplastics exposure through drinking water and gut microbiome outcomes in humans or human-derived models. two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias using robins-i and modified cochrane tools. random-effects meta-analyses were conducted to estimate pooled effect sizes for changes in alpha diversity, abundance of major bacterial phyla, short-chain fatty acids, and markers of gut inflammation. subgroup analyses explored age, geographic region, microplastic size, and exposure duration.
RESULTS:
twelve studies involving 1480 participants and 27 in vitro/ex vivo human-derived models met inclusion criteria. preliminary pooled analyses suggest microplastic ingestion is associated with decreased gut microbiome alpha diversity (standardized mean difference −0.42, 95% ci −0.65 to −0.19) and relative enrichment of pro-inflammatory taxa, including enterobacteriaceae and firmicutes:bacteroidetes ratio alteration. evidence also indicated reductions in short-chain fatty acids and increased gut inflammation markers. heterogeneity was moderate (i²=53%) and results remained consistent in sensitivity analyses.
CONCLUSIONS:
microplastics in drinking water may contribute to gut microbiome dysbiosis, with potential implications for inflammation and metabolic health. these findings highlight an urgent need for large-scale epidemiological studies and regulatory strategies to mitigate microplastic contamination. monitoring microplastic exposure should be integrated into environmental and public health risk assessments.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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