Assessment of illicit drug use in Seoul, the capital of South Korea for 21 days by wastewater-based epidemiology.
The Science of the total environment November 15, 2024 Ha Hyun Lim, Hye Jin Cha, Jeong-Eun Oh 7 citations
Over 21 days, wastewater from Seoul, South Korea, was analyzed to track 22 illicit drugs. Ten drugs were detected; methamphetamine appeared consistently. Ketamine showed the highest estimated consumption rate at 47.5 mg/day per 1,000 people, followed by methamphetamine at 12.5 mg/day per 1,000 people. Daily patterns for methamphetamine and MDMA were relatively stable, with coefficients of variation of 7.03% and 13.4%, respectively. No statistically significant differences in drug consumption were found between weekends and weekdays. However, significant regional differences emerged for methamphetamine, MDMA, and ketamine, linked to average annual income and education levels.