Wastewater entering sewer networks represents a unique source of pooled epidemiological information. In this study, we coupled online solid-phase extraction with liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry to achieve high-throughput analysis of health and lifestyle-related substances in untreated municipal wastewater during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Twenty-six substances were identified and quantified in influent samples collected from six wastewater treatment plants during the COVID-19 pandemic in central New York. Over a 12 week sampling period, the mean summed consumption rate of six major substance groups (i.e., antidepressants, antiepileptics, antihistamines, antihypertensives, synthetic opioids, and central nervous system stimulants) correlated with disparities in household income, marital status, and age of the contributing populations as well as the detection frequency of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in wastewater and the COVID-19 test positivity in the studied sewersheds. Nontarget screening revealed the covariation of piperine, a nontarget substance, with SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater collected from one of the sewersheds. Overall, this proof-of-the-concept study demonstrated the utility of high-throughput wastewater analysis for assessing the population-level substance use patterns during a public health crisis such as COVID-19.

中文翻译：

---

高通量废水分析，用于在COVID-19大流行期间在纽约市中心进行物质使用评估

进入下水道网络的废水代表了汇总的流行病学信息的唯一来源。在这项研究中，我们将在线固相萃取与液相色谱-高分辨率质谱相结合，以实现在2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行期间未经处理的城市废水中与健康和生活方式相关的物质的高通量分析。在纽约市中心发生COVID-19大流行期间，从六家废水处理厂收集的进水样品中鉴定了26种物质并进行了定量分析。在12周的采样期内，六个主要物质组的平均总消费率（即，抗抑郁药，抗癫痫药，抗组胺药，抗高血压药，合成阿片类药物和中枢神经系统兴奋剂）与家庭收入，婚姻状况和所涉人群的年龄以及严重急性呼吸系统综合症冠状病毒2（SARS- CoV-2）废水中的RNA和所研究的下水道中的COVID-19测试阳性。非目标筛查揭示了从一个污水处理厂收集的废水中胡椒碱（一种非目标物质）与SARS-CoV-2 RNA的共变关系。总体而言，该概念验证研究证明了高通量废水分析在评估诸如COVID-19之类的公共卫生危机期间评估人群级别物质使用模式的实用性。