RT Journal Article
T1 Assessing alcohol consumption through wastewater-based epidemiology: Spain as a case study
A1 López-García, Ester
A1 Pérez López, Carlos
A1 Postigo, Cristina
A1 Andreu, Vicente
A1 Bijlsma, Lubertus
A1 González Mariño, Iria
A1 Hernández, Félix
A1 Marcé, Rosa María
A1 Montes Goyanes, Rosa
A1 Picó, Yolanda
A1 Pocurull, Eva
A1 Rico, Andreu
A1 Rodil Rodríguez, María del Rosario
A1 Rosende, María
A1 Valcárcel, Yolanda
A1 Zuloaga Zubieta, Olatz
A1 Quintana Álvarez, José Benito
A1 López de Alda, Miren
K1 Sewage epidemiology
K1 Alcohol abuse
K1 Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry
K1 Consumption patterns
AB Background In this study, an alternative and complementary method to those approaches currently used to estimate alcohol consumption by the population is described. This method, known as wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), allows back-calculating the alcohol consumption rate in a given population from the concentrations of a selected biomarker measured in wastewater. Methods Composite (24-h) wastewater samples were collected at the inlet of 17 wastewater treatment plants located in 13 Spanish cities for seven consecutive days in 2018. The sampled area covered 12.8% of the Spanish population. Wastewater samples were analyzed to determine the concentration of ethyl sulfate, the biomarker used to back-calculate alcohol consumption. Results Alcohol consumption ranged from 4.5 to 46 mL/day/inhabitant. Differences in consumption were statistically significant among the investigated cities and between weekdays and weekends. WBE-derived estimates of alcohol consumption were comparable to those reported by its corresponding region in the Spanish National Health Survey in most cases. At the national level, comparable results were obtained between the WBE-derived annual consumption rate (5.7 ± 1.2 L ethanol per capita (aged 15+)) and that reported by the National Health Survey (4.7 L ethanol per capita (aged 15+)). Conclusions This is the largest WBE study carried out to date in Spain to estimate alcohol consumption rates. It confirms that this approach is useful for establishing spatial and temporal patterns of alcohol consumption, which could contribute to the development of health care management plans and policies. Contrary to established methods, it allows obtaining information in a fast and relatively economical way
PB Elsevier
SN 0376-8716
YR 2020
FD 2020
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/26979
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/26979
LA eng
NO López-García, E., Pérez-López, C., Postigo, C., Andreu, V., Bijlsma, L., González-Mariño, I., . . . López de Alda, M. (2020). Assessing alcohol consumption through wastewater-based epidemiology: Spain as a case study. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 215, 108241. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108241
NO This work has been supported by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) (This work has been supported by the Spanish State Research Agency , CTM2017-84763-C3-1-R, CTM2017-84763-C3-3-R and CTM2017-84763-C3-2-R), Generalitat de Catalunya (expedient number SA-2018-780 and Consolidated Research Group 2017 SGR 01404-Water and Soil Quality Unit), and Galician Council of Culture, Education and Universities (ED481D 2017/003 and EM2014/004). Several of these projects are cofounded by the European Regional Development Fund
DS Minerva
RD 23 abr 2026