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Change in the chemical content of untreated wastewater of Athens, Greece under COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT: COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly worldwide with unanticipated effects on mental health, lifestyle, stability of economies and societies. Although many research groups have already reported SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in untreated wastewater, only few studies evaluated the implications of the pandemic on the use of chemicals by influent wastewater analysis. Wide-scope target and suspect screening were used to monitor the effects of the pandemic on the Greek population through wastewater-based epidemiology. Composite 24 h influent wastewater samples were collected from the wastewater treatment plant of Athens during the first lockdown and analyzed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. A wide range of compounds was investigated (11,286), including antipsychotic drugs, illicit drugs, tobacco compounds, food additives, pesticides, biocides, surfactants and industrial chemicals. Mass loads of chemical markers were estimated and compared with the data obtained under non-COVID-19 conditions (campaign 2019). The findings revealed increases in surfactants (+196%), biocides (+152%), cationic quaternary ammonium surfactants (used as surfactants and biocides) (+331%), whereas the most important decreases were estimated for tobacco (-33%) and industrial chemicals (-52%). The introduction of social-restriction measures by the government affected all aspects of life.

SUBMITTER: Alygizakis N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8321698 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Change in the chemical content of untreated wastewater of Athens, Greece under COVID-19 pandemic.

Alygizakis Nikiforos N Galani Aikaterini A Rousis Nikolaos I NI Aalizadeh Reza R Dimopoulos Meletios-Athanasios MA Thomaidis Nikolaos S NS

The Science of the total environment 20210730

COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly worldwide with unanticipated effects on mental health, lifestyle, stability of economies and societies. Although many research groups have already reported SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in untreated wastewater, only few studies evaluated the implications of the pandemic on the use of chemicals by influent wastewater analysis. Wide-scope target and suspect screening were used to monitor the effects of the pandemic on the Greek population through wastewater-based epidemi ...[more]

PMID: 34364275

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Project description:BackgroundWe sought to perform a study to record and evaluate patients' views of the way surgeons communicate informed consent (IC) in Greece.Methodology/principal findingsA prospective pilot study was carried out in Athens from 9/2007 to 4/2008. The study sample was extracted from patients, operated by eight different surgeons, who volunteered to fill in a post-surgery self-report questionnaire on IC. A composite delivered information index and a patient-physician relationship index were constructed for the purposes of the analysis. In total, 77 patients (42 males) volunteered to respond to the questionnaire. The delivered information index scores ranged from 3 to 10, the mean score was 8, and the standard deviation (SD) was 1.9. All patients were aware of their underlying diagnosis and reason for surgery. However, a considerable proportion of the respondents (14.3%) achieved a score below or equal to 5. The patient-physician relationship scores ranged from 0 to 20, the mean score was 16 and the standard deviation (SD) was 4.3. The better the patient-physician relationship, the more information was finally delivered to the patient from the physician (Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficient was 0.4 and p<0.001). Delivered information index was significantly higher among participants who comprehended the right to informed consent, compared to participants who did not (p<0.001), and among participants who were given information regarding other possible therapeutic options (p = 0.001). 43% of the respondents answered that less than 10 minutes were spent on the consent process, 58.4% of patients stated that they had not been informed about other possible therapeutic choices and 28.6% did not really comprehend their legal rights to IC.ConclusionsDespite the inherent limitations and the small sample size that do not permit to draw any firm conclusions, results indicate that a successful IC process may be associated with specific elements such as the patient-physician relationship, the time spent by the physician to inform the patient, a participant's comprehension of the right to IC and the provision of information regarding other possible therapeutic options.

Project description:Objective:Fear of COVID-19 was associated with more severe depressive and anxiety symptoms. This study aimed to explore COVID-19-related fear, depressive and anxiety symptoms, social responsibility, and behavioral responses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece. Method:A cross-sectional study was conducted from April 10 to April 13, 2020. Members of the Greek general population completed anonymously an online survey, distributed through the social media. Among the 3,700 adult respondents, 3,029 fulfilled inclusion criteria. The survey included sociodemographic questions, questions exploring potential risk factors for increased fear of COVID-19, questions about the employment of safety and checking behaviors, and questions about compliance with public health guidelines. In addition, four psychometric scales were used, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), the Brief Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), and Steele's Social Responsibility Motivation scale. Multivariate General Linear Models (GLM) were used to depict significant differences among dependent variables (FCV-19S, PHQ-9, GAD-7) and independent variables (potential risk factors, safety and checking behaviors, compliance with guidelines). The relationship between the FCV-19S total score and influencing factors was quantified by linear regression analysis. Results:Several participants reported high levels of COVID-19-related fear (35.7%) and moderate to severe depressive symptoms (22.8%), while a significant proportion reported moderate to severe anxiety symptoms (77.4%). Women scored altogether significantly higher than men. Respondents under the age of 30 reported less fear and depressive symptoms and showed the least social responsibility. Based on GLM, a significant other's COVID-19 illness, being on psychiatric medication, employment of safety and checking behaviors, and compliance with guidelines were associated with higher COVID-19-related fear. Linear regression analysis revealed that gender, age, depressive, and anxiety symptoms modified levels of COVID-19-related fear. Conclusions:Greater behavioral responses to the pandemic, that is, excessive employment of safety/checking behaviors and greater compliance with guidelines, were shown to amplify fear, potentially due to increased contamination awareness. In addition, female gender, older age, and more severe anxiety symptoms were related with higher COVID-19-related fear. Describing and weighing carefully the psychosocial and behavioral impact of the pandemic will enable the implementation of both supportive and preventive interventions.

Dataset Information

Change in the chemical content of untreated wastewater of Athens, Greece under COVID-19 pandemic.

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Change in the chemical content of untreated wastewater of Athens, Greece under COVID-19 pandemic.

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