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; Leon P. Barron; Frederic Been; Jean Daniel Berset; Lubertus Bijlsma; Igor Bodík; Asher Brenner; Andreas L. Brock; Daniel A. Burgard; Erika Castrignanò; Christophoros E. Christophoridis; Adrian Covaci; Pim de Voogt; Damien A. Devault; Mário J. Dias; Erik Emke; Despo Fatta-Kassinos; Ganna Fedorova; Konstantinos Fytianos; Cobus Gerber; Roman Grabic; 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; Kristin Olafsdottir; Yolanda Picó; Benedek G. Plósz; Fabio Polesel; Cristina Postigo; José Benito Quintana; Pedram Ramin; Malcolm J. Reid; Jack Rice; Rosario Rodil; Ivan Senta; Susana M. Simões; Maja M. Sremacki; Katarzyna Styszko; Senka Terzic; Nikolaos S. Thomaidis; Kevin V. Thomas; Ben J. Tscharke; 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, Leon P. Barron, Frederic Been, Jean Daniel Berset, Lubertus Bijlsma, Igor Bodík, Asher Brenner, Andreas L. Brock, Daniel A. Burgard, Erika Castrignanò, Christophoros E. Christophoridis, Adrian Covaci, Pim de Voogt, Damien A. Devault, Mário J. Dias, Erik EmkeDespo Fatta-Kassinos, Ganna Fedorova, Konstantinos Fytianos, Cobus Gerber, Roman Grabic, 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, Kristin Olafsdottir, Yolanda Picó, Benedek G. Plósz, Fabio Polesel, Cristina Postigo, José Benito Quintana, Pedram Ramin, Malcolm J. Reid, Jack Rice, Rosario Rodil, Ivan Senta, Susana M. Simões, Maja M. Sremacki, Katarzyna Styszko, Senka Terzic, Nikolaos S. Thomaidis, Kevin V. Thomas, Ben J. Tscharke, Alexander L.N. van Nuijs, Viviane Yargeau, Ettore Zuccato, Sara Castiglioni, Christoph Ort

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

173 Citations (SciVal)

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
Early online date	23 Oct 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14767
Publication status	Published - 26 Dec 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding

This study was supported by the following countries, institutions and projects Australia: Thyne Reid foundation; Canada: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); Iceland: The Icelandic Research Fund (Grant number 163049–051); Slovenia: Slovene Research Agency (funding Project L1–9191); Spain: MINECO/AEI projects (CTM2014–56628‐C3–2‐R, CTQ2015–65603‐P, CTM2016–81935‐REDT, CTM2017–84763‐C3–2‐R), Galician Council of Culture, Education and Universities (ED481D 2017/003); UK: Environmental Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Thermo Fisher Scientific (CASE industrial scholarship for K. Munro, Ref.: EP/J502029/1). European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA); EU International Training Network SEWPROF (Marie Curie‐FP7‐PEOPLE, grant number 317205); COST Action ES1307 supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology); WATCH (Wastewater Analysis of Traces of illicit drug‐related Chemicals for law enforcement and public Health DG migration and Home affairs ‐ HOME/2015/ISFP/PR/DRUG/0062). Sampling support and provision of catchment information Austria: Klemens Geiger and Michael Schlapp; Belgium: Jonathan Phariseau, Bart Coene, Luc Van Os, Peter Nys, Dieter Lemaire, Jean‐François Mougel, Patrick Vantroyen and Karel Claes; Croatia: Marin Ganjto; Czech Republic: Jiri Stara and Robert Hrich Brněnské; France: Véronique Bremont; Italy: Roberto Mazzini and Francesca Pizza (Milan), Francesco Avolio (Bologna), Fabrizio Moratto and Sergio Ghezzi (Gorizia), Rosanna Brienza and Simona Panariello (Potenza), Pier Paolo Abis and Antonia Attanasio (Bari), Antonella Cicala (Palermo); Norway: Pia Ryrfors; Portugal: João Goulão, José Martins, Pedro Alvaro and Fátima Paixão; Slovakia: Silvia Antalová and Jozef Tichy; Spain: Begoña Martínez López, Cristian Mesa, Santiago Querol Rodriguez, Fernando Llavador, Enrique Albors and Gloria Fayos; the Netherlands: Alex Veltman, Peter Theijssen, Peter van Dijk, Stefan Wijers, Mark Stevens, Ferry de Wilde. Analytical support Australia: Maulik Ghetia; Cyprus: Popi Karaolia; Greece: Nikoilaos Raikos; Spain: Ana Maria Botero‐Coy, Clara Boix, Alberto Celma, Jorge Pitarch, Inés Racamonde and Eddie Fonseca; Italy: Emma Gracia‐Lor, Nikolaos I. Rousis and Noelia Salgueiro‐Gonzalez. Data repository and data screening Eawag: Harald von Waldow; EMCDDA: Renate Hochwieser, Liesbeth Vandam, João Matias and Federica Mathis.

Keywords

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

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Medicine (miscellaneous)
Psychiatry and Mental health

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1111/add.14767Licence: CC BY

Cite this

González-Mariño, I., Baz-Lomba, J. A., Alygizakis, N. A., Andrés-Costa, M. J., Bade, R., Barron, L. P., Been, F., Berset, J. D., Bijlsma, L., Bodík, I., Brenner, A., Brock, A. L., Burgard, D. A., Castrignanò, E., Christophoridis, C. E., Covaci, A., de Voogt, P., Devault, D. A., Dias, M. J., ... Ort, C. (2019). 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

González-Mariño, I, Baz-Lomba, JA, Alygizakis, NA, Andrés-Costa, MJ, Bade, R, Barron, LP, Been, F, Berset, JD, Bijlsma, L, Bodík, I, Brenner, A, Brock, AL, Burgard, DA, Castrignanò, E, Christophoridis, CE, Covaci, A, de Voogt, P, Devault, DA, Dias, MJ, Emke, E, Fatta-Kassinos, D, Fedorova, G, Fytianos, K, Gerber, C, Grabic, R, 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, López de Alda, M, López-García, E, Löve, ASC, Mastroianni, N, McEneff, GL, Montes, R, Munro, K, Nefau, T, Oberacher, H, O'Brien, JW, Olafsdottir, K, Picó, Y, Plósz, BG, Polesel, F, Postigo, C, Quintana, JB, Ramin, P, Reid, MJ, Rice, J, Rodil, R, Senta, I, Simões, SM, Sremacki, MM, Styszko, K, Terzic, S, Thomaidis, NS, Thomas, KV, Tscharke, BJ, van Nuijs, ALN, Yargeau, V, Zuccato, E, Castiglioni, S & Ort, C 2019, '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

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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 Barron, {Leon P.} and Frederic Been 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 Christophoridis, {Christophoros E.} and Adrian Covaci and {de Voogt}, Pim and Devault, {Damien A.} and Dias, {M{\'a}rio J.} and Erik Emke and Despo Fatta-Kassinos and Ganna Fedorova and Konstantinos Fytianos and Cobus Gerber and Roman Grabic 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 {L{\'o}pez de Alda}, Miren 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'Brien, {Jake W.} 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 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 {van Nuijs}, {Alexander L.N.} and Viviane Yargeau and Ettore Zuccato and Sara Castiglioni and Christoph Ort",

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

year = "2019",

month = dec,

day = "26",

doi = "10.1111/add.14767",

language = "English",

volume = "115",

pages = "109--120",

journal = "Addiction",

issn = "0965-2140",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd",

number = "1",

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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 - Barron, Leon P.

AU - Been, Frederic

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 - Christophoridis, Christophoros E.

AU - Covaci, Adrian

AU - de Voogt, Pim

AU - Devault, Damien A.

AU - Dias, Mário J.

AU - Emke, Erik

AU - Fatta-Kassinos, Despo

AU - Fedorova, Ganna

AU - Fytianos, Konstantinos

AU - Gerber, Cobus

AU - Grabic, Roman

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 - López de Alda, Miren

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 - 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 - 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 - van Nuijs, Alexander L.N.

AU - Yargeau, Viviane

AU - Zuccato, Ettore

AU - Castiglioni, Sara

AU - Ort, Christoph

PY - 2019/12/26

Y1 - 2019/12/26

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 - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074608360&partnerID=8YFLogxK

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

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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