Spatio-temporal assessment of illicit drug use at large scale: evidence from 7 years of international wastewater monitoring

Iria González-Mariño; Jose Antonio Baz-Lomba; Nikiforos A. Alygizakis; Maria Jesús Andrés-Costa; Richard Bade; Anne Bannwarth; Leon P. Barron; Frederic Been; Lisa Benaglia; Jean Daniel Berset; Lubertus Bijlsma; Igor Bodík; Asher Brenner; Andreas L. Brock; Daniel A. Burgard; Erika Castrignanò; Alberto Celma; Christophoros E. Christophoridis; Adrian Covaci; Oliver Delémont; Pim Devoogt; Damien A. Devault; Mário J. Dias; Erik Emke; Pierre Esseiva; Despo Fatta-Kassinos; Ganna Fedorova; Konstantinos Fytianos; Cobus Gerber; Roman Grabic; Emma Gracia-Lor; Stefan Grüner; Teemu Gunnar; Evroula Hapeshi; Ester Heath; Björn Helm; Félix Hernández; Aino Kankaanpaa; Sara Karolak; Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern; Ivona Krizman-Matasic; Foon Yin Lai; Wojciech Lechowicz; Alvaro Lopes; Miren López de Alda; Ester López-García; Arndís S.C. Löve; Nicola Mastroianni; Gillian L. McEneff; Rosa Montes; Kelly Munro; Thomas Nefau; Herbert Oberacher; Jake W. O’brien; Reinhard Oertel; Kristin Olafsdottir; Yolanda Picó; Benedek G. Plósz; Fabio Polesel; Cristina Postigo; José Benito Quintana; Pedram Ramin; Malcolm J. Reid; Jack Rice; Rosario Rodil; Noelia Salgueiro-Gonzàlez; Sara Schubert; Ivan Senta; Susana M. Simões; Maja M. Sremacki; Katarzyna Styszko; Senka Terzic; Nikolaos S. Thomaidis; Kevin V. Thomas; Ben J. Tscharke; Robin Udrisard; Alexander L.N. van Nuijs; Viviane Yargeau; Ettore Zuccato; Sara Castiglioni; Christoph Ort

doi:10.1111/add.14767

Spatio-temporal assessment of illicit drug use at large scale: evidence from 7 years of international wastewater monitoring

Iria González-Mariño^*
, Jose Antonio Baz-Lomba
, Nikiforos A. Alygizakis
, Maria Jesús Andrés-Costa
, Richard Bade
, Anne Bannwarth
, Leon P. Barron
, Frederic Been
, Lisa Benaglia
, Jean Daniel Berset
, Lubertus Bijlsma
, Igor Bodík
, Asher Brenner
, Andreas L. Brock
, Daniel A. Burgard
, Erika Castrignanò
, Alberto Celma
, Christophoros E. Christophoridis
, Adrian Covaci
, Oliver Delémont

Pim Devoogt, Damien A. Devault, Mário J. Dias, Erik Emke, Pierre Esseiva, Despo Fatta-Kassinos, Ganna Fedorova, Konstantinos Fytianos, Cobus Gerber, Roman Grabic, Emma Gracia-Lor, Stefan Grüner, Teemu Gunnar, Evroula Hapeshi, Ester Heath, Björn Helm, Félix Hernández, Aino Kankaanpaa, Sara Karolak, Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern, Ivona Krizman-Matasic, Foon Yin Lai, Wojciech Lechowicz, Alvaro Lopes, Miren López de Alda, Ester López-García, Arndís S.C. Löve, Nicola Mastroianni, Gillian L. McEneff, Rosa Montes, Kelly Munro, Thomas Nefau, Herbert Oberacher, Jake W. O’brien, Reinhard Oertel, Kristin Olafsdottir, Yolanda Picó, Benedek G. Plósz, Fabio Polesel, Cristina Postigo, José Benito Quintana, Pedram Ramin, Malcolm J. Reid, Jack Rice, Rosario Rodil, Noelia Salgueiro-Gonzàlez, Sara Schubert, Ivan Senta, Susana M. Simões, Maja M. Sremacki, Katarzyna Styszko, Senka Terzic, Nikolaos S. Thomaidis, Kevin V. Thomas, Ben J. Tscharke, Robin Udrisard, Alexander L.N. van Nuijs, Viviane Yargeau, Ettore Zuccato, Sara Castiglioni, Christoph Ort

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Background and aims: Wastewater-based epidemiology is an additional indicator of drug use that is gaining reliability to complement the current established panel of indicators. The aims of this study were to: (i) assess spatial and temporal trends of population-normalized mass loads of benzoylecgonine, amphetamine, methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in raw wastewater over 7 years (2011–17); (ii) address overall drug use by estimating the average number of combined doses consumed per day in each city; and (iii) compare these with existing prevalence and seizure data. Design: Analysis of daily raw wastewater composite samples collected over 1 week per year from 2011 to 2017. Setting and Participants: Catchment areas of 143 wastewater treatment plants in 120 cities in 37 countries. Measurements: Parent substances (amphetamine, methamphetamine and MDMA) and the metabolites of cocaine (benzoylecgonine) and of Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol) were measured in wastewater using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Daily mass loads (mg/day) were normalized to catchment population (mg/1000 people/day) and converted to the number of combined doses consumed per day. Spatial differences were assessed world-wide, and temporal trends were discerned at European level by comparing 2011–13 drug loads versus 2014–17 loads. Findings: Benzoylecgonine was the stimulant metabolite detected at higher loads in southern and western Europe, and amphetamine, MDMA and methamphetamine in East and North–Central Europe. In other continents, methamphetamine showed the highest levels in the United States and Australia and benzoylecgonine in South America. During the reporting period, benzoylecgonine loads increased in general across Europe, amphetamine and methamphetamine levels fluctuated and MDMA underwent an intermittent upsurge. Conclusions: The analysis of wastewater to quantify drug loads provides near real-time drug use estimates that globally correspond to prevalence and seizure data.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	109-120
Number of pages	12
Journal	Addiction
Volume	115
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14767
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Authors. Addiction published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction

Funding

Funders	Funder number
Thyne Reid Foundation
Rosanna Brienza and Simona Panariello
Francesco Avolio
Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
European Commission
Marie Curie-FP7-PEOPLE
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Popi Karaolia
Antonella Cicala
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council	EP/J502029/1
Galician Council of Culture, Education and Universities	ED481D 2017/003
Medical Research Council	MR/S019669/1
Agencia Estatal de Investigación	CTQ2015–65603‐P, CTM2014–56628‐C3–2‐R, CTM2016–81935‐REDT, CTM2017–84763‐C3–2‐R
Icelandic Centre for Research	163049–051
Seventh Framework Programme	317205
Chemicals for law enforcement and public Health DG migration and Home affairs	HOME/2015/ISFP/PR/DRUG/0062
Javna Agencija za Raziskovalno Dejavnost RS	L1–9191
European Cooperation in Science and Technology	ES1307

Keywords

Amphetamine
cocaine
ecstasy/MDMA
illicit drugs
methamphetamine
wastewater-based epidemiology

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10.1111/add.14767

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Cite this

González-Mariño, I., Baz-Lomba, J. A., Alygizakis, N. A., Andrés-Costa, M. J., Bade, R., Bannwarth, A., Barron, L. P., Been, F., Benaglia, L., Berset, J. D., Bijlsma, L., Bodík, I., Brenner, A., Brock, A. L., Burgard, D. A., Castrignanò, E., Celma, A., Christophoridis, C. E., Covaci, A., ... Ort, C. (2020). Spatio-temporal assessment of illicit drug use at large scale: evidence from 7 years of international wastewater monitoring. Addiction, 115(1), 109-120. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14767

@article{b131ff23ba864b1fb78be136b6b0f4dd,

title = "Spatio-temporal assessment of illicit drug use at large scale: evidence from 7 years of international wastewater monitoring",

abstract = "Background and aims: Wastewater-based epidemiology is an additional indicator of drug use that is gaining reliability to complement the current established panel of indicators. The aims of this study were to: (i) assess spatial and temporal trends of population-normalized mass loads of benzoylecgonine, amphetamine, methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in raw wastewater over 7 years (2011–17); (ii) address overall drug use by estimating the average number of combined doses consumed per day in each city; and (iii) compare these with existing prevalence and seizure data. Design: Analysis of daily raw wastewater composite samples collected over 1 week per year from 2011 to 2017. Setting and Participants: Catchment areas of 143 wastewater treatment plants in 120 cities in 37 countries. Measurements: Parent substances (amphetamine, methamphetamine and MDMA) and the metabolites of cocaine (benzoylecgonine) and of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) were measured in wastewater using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Daily mass loads (mg/day) were normalized to catchment population (mg/1000 people/day) and converted to the number of combined doses consumed per day. Spatial differences were assessed world-wide, and temporal trends were discerned at European level by comparing 2011–13 drug loads versus 2014–17 loads. Findings: Benzoylecgonine was the stimulant metabolite detected at higher loads in southern and western Europe, and amphetamine, MDMA and methamphetamine in East and North–Central Europe. In other continents, methamphetamine showed the highest levels in the United States and Australia and benzoylecgonine in South America. During the reporting period, benzoylecgonine loads increased in general across Europe, amphetamine and methamphetamine levels fluctuated and MDMA underwent an intermittent upsurge. Conclusions: The analysis of wastewater to quantify drug loads provides near real-time drug use estimates that globally correspond to prevalence and seizure data.",

keywords = "Amphetamine, cocaine, ecstasy/MDMA, illicit drugs, methamphetamine, wastewater-based epidemiology",

author = "Iria Gonz{\'a}lez-Mari{\~n}o and Baz-Lomba, \{Jose Antonio\} and Alygizakis, \{Nikiforos A.\} and Andr{\'e}s-Costa, \{Maria Jes{\'u}s\} and Richard Bade and Anne Bannwarth and Barron, \{Leon P.\} and Frederic Been and Lisa Benaglia and Berset, \{Jean Daniel\} and Lubertus Bijlsma and Igor Bod{\'i}k and Asher Brenner and Brock, \{Andreas L.\} and Burgard, \{Daniel A.\} and Erika Castrignan{\`o} and Alberto Celma and Christophoridis, \{Christophoros E.\} and Adrian Covaci and Oliver Del{\'e}mont and Pim Devoogt and Devault, \{Damien A.\} and Dias, \{M{\'a}rio J.\} and Erik Emke and Pierre Esseiva and Despo Fatta-Kassinos and Ganna Fedorova and Konstantinos Fytianos and Cobus Gerber and Roman Grabic and Emma Gracia-Lor and Stefan Gr{\"u}ner and Teemu Gunnar and Evroula Hapeshi and Ester Heath and Bj{\"o}rn Helm and F{\'e}lix Hern{\'a}ndez and Aino Kankaanpaa and Sara Karolak and Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern and Ivona Krizman-Matasic and Lai, \{Foon Yin\} and Wojciech Lechowicz and Alvaro Lopes and \{de Alda\}, \{Miren L{\'o}pez\} and Ester L{\'o}pez-Garc{\'i}a and L{\"o}ve, \{Arnd{\'i}s S.C.\} and Nicola Mastroianni and McEneff, \{Gillian L.\} and Rosa Montes and Kelly Munro and Thomas Nefau and Herbert Oberacher and O{\textquoteright}brien, \{Jake W.\} and Reinhard Oertel and Kristin Olafsdottir and Yolanda Pic{\'o} and Pl{\'o}sz, \{Benedek G.\} and Fabio Polesel and Cristina Postigo and Quintana, \{Jos{\'e} Benito\} and Pedram Ramin and Reid, \{Malcolm J.\} and Jack Rice and Rosario Rodil and Noelia Salgueiro-Gonz{\`a}lez and Sara Schubert and Ivan Senta and Sim{\~o}es, \{Susana M.\} and Sremacki, \{Maja M.\} and Katarzyna Styszko and Senka Terzic and Thomaidis, \{Nikolaos S.\} and Thomas, \{Kevin V.\} and Tscharke, \{Ben J.\} and Robin Udrisard and \{van Nuijs\}, \{Alexander L.N.\} and Viviane Yargeau and Ettore Zuccato and Sara Castiglioni and Christoph Ort",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 The Authors. Addiction published by John Wiley \& Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction",

year = "2020",

month = jan,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1111/add.14767",

language = "English",

volume = "115",

pages = "109--120",

journal = "Addiction",

issn = "0965-2140",

publisher = "John Wiley and Sons Inc.",

number = "1",

}

González-Mariño, I, Baz-Lomba, JA, Alygizakis, NA, Andrés-Costa, MJ, Bade, R, Bannwarth, A, Barron, LP, Been, F, Benaglia, L, Berset, JD, Bijlsma, L, Bodík, I, Brenner, A, Brock, AL, Burgard, DA, Castrignanò, E, Celma, A, Christophoridis, CE, Covaci, A, Delémont, O, Devoogt, P, Devault, DA, Dias, MJ, Emke, E, Esseiva, P, Fatta-Kassinos, D, Fedorova, G, Fytianos, K, Gerber, C, Grabic, R, Gracia-Lor, E, Grüner, S, Gunnar, T, Hapeshi, E, Heath, E, Helm, B, Hernández, F, Kankaanpaa, A, Karolak, S, Kasprzyk-Hordern, B, Krizman-Matasic, I, Lai, FY, Lechowicz, W, Lopes, A, de Alda, ML, López-García, E, Löve, ASC, Mastroianni, N, McEneff, GL, Montes, R, Munro, K, Nefau, T, Oberacher, H, O’brien, JW, Oertel, R, Olafsdottir, K, Picó, Y, Plósz, BG, Polesel, F, Postigo, C, Quintana, JB, Ramin, P, Reid, MJ, Rice, J, Rodil, R, Salgueiro-Gonzàlez, N, Schubert, S, Senta, I, Simões, SM, Sremacki, MM, Styszko, K, Terzic, S, Thomaidis, NS, Thomas, KV, Tscharke, BJ, Udrisard, R, van Nuijs, ALN, Yargeau, V, Zuccato, E, Castiglioni, S & Ort, C 2020, 'Spatio-temporal assessment of illicit drug use at large scale: evidence from 7 years of international wastewater monitoring', Addiction, vol. 115, no. 1, pp. 109-120. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14767

TY - JOUR

T1 - Spatio-temporal assessment of illicit drug use at large scale

T2 - evidence from 7 years of international wastewater monitoring

AU - González-Mariño, Iria

AU - Baz-Lomba, Jose Antonio

AU - Alygizakis, Nikiforos A.

AU - Andrés-Costa, Maria Jesús

AU - Bade, Richard

AU - Bannwarth, Anne

AU - Barron, Leon P.

AU - Been, Frederic

AU - Benaglia, Lisa

AU - Berset, Jean Daniel

AU - Bijlsma, Lubertus

AU - Bodík, Igor

AU - Brenner, Asher

AU - Brock, Andreas L.

AU - Burgard, Daniel A.

AU - Castrignanò, Erika

AU - Celma, Alberto

AU - Christophoridis, Christophoros E.

AU - Covaci, Adrian

AU - Delémont, Oliver

AU - Devoogt, Pim

AU - Devault, Damien A.

AU - Dias, Mário J.

AU - Emke, Erik

AU - Esseiva, Pierre

AU - Fatta-Kassinos, Despo

AU - Fedorova, Ganna

AU - Fytianos, Konstantinos

AU - Gerber, Cobus

AU - Grabic, Roman

AU - Gracia-Lor, Emma

AU - Grüner, Stefan

AU - Gunnar, Teemu

AU - Hapeshi, Evroula

AU - Heath, Ester

AU - Helm, Björn

AU - Hernández, Félix

AU - Kankaanpaa, Aino

AU - Karolak, Sara

AU - Kasprzyk-Hordern, Barbara

AU - Krizman-Matasic, Ivona

AU - Lai, Foon Yin

AU - Lechowicz, Wojciech

AU - Lopes, Alvaro

AU - de Alda, Miren López

AU - López-García, Ester

AU - Löve, Arndís S.C.

AU - Mastroianni, Nicola

AU - McEneff, Gillian L.

AU - Montes, Rosa

AU - Munro, Kelly

AU - Nefau, Thomas

AU - Oberacher, Herbert

AU - O’brien, Jake W.

AU - Oertel, Reinhard

AU - Olafsdottir, Kristin

AU - Picó, Yolanda

AU - Plósz, Benedek G.

AU - Polesel, Fabio

AU - Postigo, Cristina

AU - Quintana, José Benito

AU - Ramin, Pedram

AU - Reid, Malcolm J.

AU - Rice, Jack

AU - Rodil, Rosario

AU - Salgueiro-Gonzàlez, Noelia

AU - Schubert, Sara

AU - Senta, Ivan

AU - Simões, Susana M.

AU - Sremacki, Maja M.

AU - Styszko, Katarzyna

AU - Terzic, Senka

AU - Thomaidis, Nikolaos S.

AU - Thomas, Kevin V.

AU - Tscharke, Ben J.

AU - Udrisard, Robin

AU - van Nuijs, Alexander L.N.

AU - Yargeau, Viviane

AU - Zuccato, Ettore

AU - Castiglioni, Sara

AU - Ort, Christoph

PY - 2020/1/1

Y1 - 2020/1/1

N2 - Background and aims: Wastewater-based epidemiology is an additional indicator of drug use that is gaining reliability to complement the current established panel of indicators. The aims of this study were to: (i) assess spatial and temporal trends of population-normalized mass loads of benzoylecgonine, amphetamine, methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in raw wastewater over 7 years (2011–17); (ii) address overall drug use by estimating the average number of combined doses consumed per day in each city; and (iii) compare these with existing prevalence and seizure data. Design: Analysis of daily raw wastewater composite samples collected over 1 week per year from 2011 to 2017. Setting and Participants: Catchment areas of 143 wastewater treatment plants in 120 cities in 37 countries. Measurements: Parent substances (amphetamine, methamphetamine and MDMA) and the metabolites of cocaine (benzoylecgonine) and of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) were measured in wastewater using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Daily mass loads (mg/day) were normalized to catchment population (mg/1000 people/day) and converted to the number of combined doses consumed per day. Spatial differences were assessed world-wide, and temporal trends were discerned at European level by comparing 2011–13 drug loads versus 2014–17 loads. Findings: Benzoylecgonine was the stimulant metabolite detected at higher loads in southern and western Europe, and amphetamine, MDMA and methamphetamine in East and North–Central Europe. In other continents, methamphetamine showed the highest levels in the United States and Australia and benzoylecgonine in South America. During the reporting period, benzoylecgonine loads increased in general across Europe, amphetamine and methamphetamine levels fluctuated and MDMA underwent an intermittent upsurge. Conclusions: The analysis of wastewater to quantify drug loads provides near real-time drug use estimates that globally correspond to prevalence and seizure data.

AB - Background and aims: Wastewater-based epidemiology is an additional indicator of drug use that is gaining reliability to complement the current established panel of indicators. The aims of this study were to: (i) assess spatial and temporal trends of population-normalized mass loads of benzoylecgonine, amphetamine, methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in raw wastewater over 7 years (2011–17); (ii) address overall drug use by estimating the average number of combined doses consumed per day in each city; and (iii) compare these with existing prevalence and seizure data. Design: Analysis of daily raw wastewater composite samples collected over 1 week per year from 2011 to 2017. Setting and Participants: Catchment areas of 143 wastewater treatment plants in 120 cities in 37 countries. Measurements: Parent substances (amphetamine, methamphetamine and MDMA) and the metabolites of cocaine (benzoylecgonine) and of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) were measured in wastewater using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Daily mass loads (mg/day) were normalized to catchment population (mg/1000 people/day) and converted to the number of combined doses consumed per day. Spatial differences were assessed world-wide, and temporal trends were discerned at European level by comparing 2011–13 drug loads versus 2014–17 loads. Findings: Benzoylecgonine was the stimulant metabolite detected at higher loads in southern and western Europe, and amphetamine, MDMA and methamphetamine in East and North–Central Europe. In other continents, methamphetamine showed the highest levels in the United States and Australia and benzoylecgonine in South America. During the reporting period, benzoylecgonine loads increased in general across Europe, amphetamine and methamphetamine levels fluctuated and MDMA underwent an intermittent upsurge. Conclusions: The analysis of wastewater to quantify drug loads provides near real-time drug use estimates that globally correspond to prevalence and seizure data.

KW - Amphetamine

KW - cocaine

KW - ecstasy/MDMA

KW - illicit drugs

KW - methamphetamine

KW - wastewater-based epidemiology

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85074608360

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85074608360#tab=citedBy

U2 - 10.1111/add.14767

DO - 10.1111/add.14767

M3 - Article

C2 - 31642141

AN - SCOPUS:85074608360

SN - 0965-2140

VL - 115

SP - 109

EP - 120

JO - Addiction

JF - Addiction

IS - 1

ER -

Spatio-temporal assessment of illicit drug use at large scale: evidence from 7 years of international wastewater monitoring

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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Keywords

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