Spatial and temporal trends in alcohol consumption in Belgian cities: A wastewater-based approach
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Background: In recent years, scientific evidence has emerged that wastewater-based epidemiology can deliver complementary information concerning the use of different substances of abuse. In this study, the potential of wastewater-based epidemiology in monitoring spatial and temporal trends in alcohol consumption in different populations in Belgium has been examined. Methods: Concentrations of ethyl sulphate, a minor Phase-II metabolite of ethanol, in 163 influent wastewater samples from eight wastewater treatment plants in Belgium in the period 2013-2015 were measured with liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry and used to estimate alcohol consumption. Results: The highest levels of alcohol consumption were detected in the metropoles Antwerp and Brussels compared to smaller villages. Annual variations were detected, with a higher alcohol consumption measured in 2013 compared with 2014. The weekly pattern showed a clear week and weekend difference in alcohol use, with intermediate levels on Monday and Friday. The results were extrapolated and a use of 5.6 L pure alcohol per year per inhabitant aged 15+ has been estimated in Belgium. The comparison with available information on drinking habits of the Belgian population further demonstrated the usefulness of the wastewater-based epidemiology approach. Conclusions: This is the largest wastewater-based epidemiology study monitoring alcohol consumption to date, demonstrating that objective and quick information on spatio-temporal trends in alcohol consumption on a local and (inter)national scale can be obtained.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Drug and Alcohol Dependence |
Volume | 160 |
Pages (from-to) | 170-176 |
Number of pages | 7 |
ISSN | 0376-8716 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2016 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:
This study and the PhD fellowship of Juliet Kinyua had financial support from the EU International Training Network SEWPROF (Marie Curie- Grant number 317205). Dr. Alexander van Nuijs acknowledges the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO) for his post-doctoral fellowship. The authors are grateful to Jean-François Mougel, Alain Vandelannoote and the staff of the WWTPs of Aquafin for support in sampling.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
- Alcohol consumption, Ethyl sulphate, Influent wastewater, Sewage-based epidemiology, Spatio-temporal trends
Research areas
ID: 275538199