• Growing industrialization and population negatively impact the environment by releasing emerging pollutants (EPs), which are chemicals that arise from sources like pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and plastics, which are not commonly monitored but are increasingly detected in the environment.

• A review of articles published in Reproductive Toxicology summarizes the current evidence that consumption of microplastic-polluted water may enhance the risk of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).

• Zoologists conducted studies on zebrafish, which share roughly 70% of their genome with humans, and filled them in three tanks with fresh water, alongside letrozole and microplastics.

• After 21 days, the zebrafish exposed to letrozole and microplastics displayed ovarian changes and hormone disruptions that are found in PCOS.

• Studies have also suggested that exposure to microplastics contributed to ovarian fibrosis or excessive proliferation of connective tissue in the ovaries, one of the outcomes of PCOS, following exposure to microplastics.

• This study concludes that further studies are needed to address this issue.

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