Consumption of pharmaceuticals by people is growing. Carbamazepine (CBZ) is an extensively used anti-epileptic drug that is recalcitrant to degradation. As a result, CBZ has been widely detected in the aquatic ecosystem due to its daily consumption and drainage in sewage systems. Leakages from sewage networks and septic tanks may represent one of the main sources of CBZ in groundwater. In this study, CBZ concentrations in groundwater and their correlations with the demographic structure of the population were investigated in the densely populated Milan urban area. Seventy-six demographic variables were retrieved from the Italian Population and Housing census. Twenty-one groundwater samples were collected from unconfined and semi-confined aquifers of the Milan area and the concentration of CBZ was measured. Groundwater CBZ levels in both aquifers were associated with the demographic data within a circular buffer with a radius of 1.5 km. All data were analyzed using a multivariate statistical approach. The results showed a significant association (p < 0.05) between CBZ concentrations and specific demographic segments of the population. Higher CBZ concentrations were found to be associated with the population aged 70 years and over (aging index), and with families having children aged under 5 years (family index). In addition, the divorce index was correlated with the high concentration of CBZ, whereas the educated and sexagenarian population showed a negative correlation. Our results indicated that the contamination of CBZ follows the same pattern in unconfined and semi-confined aquifers, which are used for drinking water purposes in Milan area. Therefore, changing the CBZ consumption pattern or replacing CBZ with other drugs may strongly influence groundwater contamination of the investigated area.

中文翻译：

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人口稠密地区地下水中与人口统计学指标相关的卡马西平水平

人们对药品的消费正在增长。卡马西平 (CBZ) 是一种广泛使用的抗癫痫药物，难以降解。因此，CBZ 因其在污水系统中的日常消耗和排放而在水生生态系统中被广泛检测到。污水管网和化粪池的泄漏可能是地下水中 CBZ 的主要来源之一。在这项研究中，在人口稠密的米兰市区调查了地下水中的 CBZ 浓度及其与人口结构的相关性。从意大利人口和住房普查中检索了 76 个人口统计变量。从米兰地区的非承压和半承压含水层中收集了 21 个地下水样品，并测量了 CBZ 的浓度。两个含水层中的地下水 CBZ 水平与半径为 1.5 公里的圆形缓冲区内的人口统计数据相关。使用多变量统计方法分析所有数据。结果显示显着相关性（p < 0.05) 在 CBZ 浓度和特定人口群体之间。发现较高的 CBZ 浓度与 70 岁及以上人口（老龄化指数）以及有 5 岁以下儿童的家庭（家庭指数）有关。此外，离婚指数与CBZ的高浓度相关，而受过教育和60多岁的人口呈负相关。我们的结果表明，在米兰地区用于饮用水的非承压和半承压含水层中，CBZ 的污染遵循相同的模式。因此，改变 CBZ 消费模式或用其他药物替代 CBZ 可能会强烈影响调查区域的地下水污染。