Kruć-Fijałkowska Roksana, Drożdżyński Dariusz, Matusiak Magdalena, Dragon Krzysztof, Szczepański Marek
Hydrogeology and Water Protection Unit, Institute of Geology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Bogumiła Krygowskiego 12, Poznań, 61‑680, Poland.
Department of Pesticide Residue Research, Institute of Plant Protection-National Research Institute, Władysława Węgorka 20, Poznań, 60‑318, Poland.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 12;15(1):29451. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-14568-x.
This research aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pharmaceutical concentrations in surface water. The Warta River (western Poland) was studied at points upstream and downstream of the treated sewage outflow. Ten pharmaceuticals were analyzed in 12 sampling campaigns during the pandemic (February 2020 - April 2021), and 3 during the post-pandemic period (November 2024 - January 2025) to assess their long-term impact. The results revealed a significant increase in pharmaceutical concentrations near the outflow of treated sewage (range 1.53-20.47 µg/L), confirming that it is the main source of these micropollutants in the environment. Moreover, the concentration increase in the river, overlapped with successive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. This made it possible to identify patterns of society's behavior. During lockdowns, preventive and psychotropic drug concentrations increased in the river. These indicate that higher consumption of these pharmaceuticals maybe associated with worse mental well-being and a desire to protect against the virus. However, the concentrations of antibiotics and cardiological drugs decreased, which was linked to more difficult access to doctors and protection from the virus by avoiding the health center. During the post-pandemic period psychotropic drug concentrations increased significantly, suggesting a significant deterioration in society's mental health.
本研究旨在评估新冠疫情对地表水中药物浓度的影响。对瓦尔塔河（波兰西部）污水处理厂排水口上游和下游的点位进行了研究。在疫情期间（2020年2月至2021年4月）的12次采样活动中分析了10种药物，并在疫情后时期（2024年11月至2025年1月）进行了3次采样活动，以评估其长期影响。结果显示，污水处理厂排水口附近的药物浓度显著增加（范围为1.53 - 20.47微克/升），证实其是环境中这些微污染物的主要来源。此外，河流中的浓度增加与新冠疫情的连续波峰相重叠。这使得识别社会行为模式成为可能。在封锁期间，河流中预防性药物和精神药物的浓度增加。这些表明这些药物的较高消费量可能与较差的心理健康状况以及预防病毒的愿望有关。然而，抗生素和心脏病药物的浓度下降，这与就医难度增加以及通过避免前往医疗中心来预防病毒有关。在疫情后时期，精神药物浓度显著增加，表明社会心理健康状况显著恶化。
