Figure 1
Number of reviews covering plastic chemical exposure and human health outcomes over time included in the original Umbrella Review (purple), the first version of PlasticHealthAware (blue), and the updated version of PlasticHealthAware (green) (1A). Note that the search window was limited to August 2025.
Distribution of included meta‑analyses per review across the three versions (1B). Boxes show the interquartile range (IQR) with the median as bold line, and whiskers extending to 1.5 x IQR beyond box edges.
Cumulative number of unique plastic chemical exposures included in the reviews covered by PlasticHealthAware by publication year (1C). Plastic chemical exposures are aggregated by group: bisphenols (pink), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs ‑ dark green), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs ‑ light green), per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS ‑ yellow), and phthalates (blue).
Cumulative number of adverse associations between plastic chemical group and health outcomes in the two strongest categories of evidence in PlasticHealthAware by publication year (1D). Associations are considered “statistically significant and highly consistent” (red) when at least one meta‑analysis finds a statistically significant adverse association, and all relevant meta‑analysis findings are consistently in that same adverse direction. Associations are considered “statistically significant with sufficient consistency” (orange) when at least one meta‑analysis finds a statistically significant adverse association, and with all relevant statistically significant findings in that same adverse direction, but with one or more contrary trends amongst findings that are not statistically significant.