{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:28:56Z","timestamp":1787027336381,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773187200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The detection of microplastics (MPs) in human blood has sparked global concern, yet public understanding and associated anxiety in high-exposure regions like India remain underexplored.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This cross-sectional survey (September 2023\u2013March 2025) involved 1,200 Indian adults using stratified sampling across age, gender, education, income, and urban\/rural residence. A validated 30-item questionnaire assessed awareness sources, knowledge accuracy, and MP-specific anxiety (adapted GAD-7). Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multivariate logistic regression in R (v4.3.1).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      75% of participants were aware of MPs in blood (primarily via social media, 58%), but only 28% correctly identified ingestion as the main pathway and 25% understood realistic health implications (e.g., inflammation, potential coagulation effects). Mean anxiety score was 7.8\u202f\u00b1\u202f3.2 (mild\u2013moderate), with higher levels among social media users (OR\u202f=\u202f1.7,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001) and those with low health literacy (OR\u202f=\u202f2.3,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001). Younger adults (18\u201335\u202fyears) showed highest awareness (82%) but also misinformation (e.g., 45% linking MPs directly to cancer).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Significant gaps persist between awareness and evidence-based knowledge, fueling unnecessary anxiety. Targeted media literacy and public health campaigns are essential in India and similar settings.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1786204","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T06:51:34Z","timestamp":1773211894000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Public awareness, knowledge gaps, and health anxiety concerning microplastics in human blood: a cross-sectional survey of Indian adults"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Abdullah M.","family":"AlShahrani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Medical Science, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University (KKU)","place":["Abha, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anupriya","family":"Kumari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shri Sant Tukaram Shikshan Prasarak Mandal\u2019s Adhyapak Mahavidyalaya, Savitribai Phule Pune University","place":["Pune, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ajay Kumar","family":"Behera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Regional Center","place":["Kolkata, West Bengal, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"S. Rehan","family":"Ahmad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hiralal Mazumdar Memorial College for Women, West Bengal State University","place":["Kolkata, West Bengal, India"]},{"name":"Department of Biotechnology, UCSI University","place":["Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1700782","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.1700782","article-title":"Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made","volume":"3","author":"Geyer","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sci Adv"},{"key":"ref2","volume-title":"Plastics \u2013 The Fast Facts 2025","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"165","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envint.2017.02.013","article-title":"Distribution and importance of microplastics in the marine environment: a review of the sources, fate, effects, and potential 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