Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/24
By: Chen Wei-ting and Emerson Lim
Taipei, May 24 (CNA) A health specialist has warned that people in Taiwan are highly exposed to plasticizers and that beyond their harmful effects on reproductive health they also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Based on a tracking study of more than 700 21-year-olds starting in 2016, the plasticizer DEHP (Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalateis) was found to be related to coronary artery disease, said Dr. Su Ta-chen (蘇大成) at a press conference at National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) on Friday.

He said DEHP can affect the inner linings of small arteries and prevent them from functioning normally, a condition known as endothelial dysfunction, which increases the risk of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) buildup.

LDL is also referred to as bad cholesterol.    [FULL  STORY]