Wastewater-based epidemiology to monitor 68 NPS/conventional drug use in Taipei metropolitan area in Taiwan during and after COVID-19 pandemic.

Autor: Ting TT; Department of Data Science, School of Big Data Management, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan., Chen PC; Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan., Chang YC; Graduate Institute of Toxicology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan., Chiang PJ; Graduate Institute of Toxicology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan., Li HC; Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan., Chen SH; Graduate Institute of Toxicology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan., Chen PC; Graduate Institute of Toxicology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan., Chu HT; Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan., Chuang PY; Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan., Liu YH; Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: frfkimo@gmail.com., Chen PS; Graduate Institute of Toxicology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: paishanchen@ntu.edu.tw.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of hazardous materials [J Hazard Mater] 2024 Sep 05; Vol. 476, pp. 135020. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 29.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.135020
Abstrakt: Amidst far-reaching COVID-19 effects and social constraints, this study leveraged wastewater-based epidemiology to track 38 conventional drugs and 30 new psychoactive substances (NPS) in northern Taiwan. Analyzing daily samples from four Taipei wastewater plants between September 2021 and January 2024-encompassing club reopenings, holidays, Lunar New Year, an outbreak, and regular periods-thirty-one drugs were detected, including 5 NPS. Tramadol, zolpidem tartrate, CMA, and MDPV were newly detected in Taiwanese sewage with frequency of 1.4 %- 89.0 %. Conventional drug use typically increased post-pandemic, aside from benzodiazepines and methadone. Methamphetamine showed 100 % frequency, indicating ongoing daily consumption despite COVID-19 measures. Methamphetamine and morphine's consumption dipped then rose around club reopening, hinting at limited access. The consumption trend of methadone appeared to compensate for the use of morphine. Ketamine and NPS demonstrated similar patterns throughout the entire period. NPS as party drugs seemed influenced by an unstable supply chain and complexities in implementation. Benzodiazepines, commonly abused alongside synthetic cathinones in Taiwan exhibited an opposing trend to NPS while aligned with acetaminophen, suggesting elevated stress and anxiety levels during the pandemic. No significant differences were observed in drug consumption between weekdays and weekends, potentially indicating that COVID-19 measures blurred the traditional distinctions between these timeframes. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION: New psychoactive substances refer to chemically modified variants of controlled drugs designed to mimic the effects of the original drugs while evading modern detection methods, categorizing them as hazardous materials. The study presents a sewage monitoring project conducted from 2021 to 2024, collecting samples from four WWTPs to analyze NPS and conventional drug trends during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings uncovered connections between drug consumption patterns and pandemic-related policies. In light of the persistent drug abuse and their environmental presence, the results bear critical importance for both environmental and public health. We provide a thorough assessment of these relationships and prioritize areas for future research.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests. Pai-Shan Chen reports financial support was provided by National Science and Technology Council.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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