Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35165193›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2022

Pharmaceutical pollution of the world's rivers.

John L Wilkinson, Alistair B A Boxall, Dana W Kolpin, Kenneth M Y Leung, Racliffe W S Lai, Cristóbal Galbán-Malagón, Aiko D Adell, Julie Mondon, Marc Metian, Robert A Marchant and 117 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 297 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
297citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

297 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  14. Antimicrobial Resistance and Selected Virulence-Associated GenesAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026
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237 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

127 authors.

John L WilkinsonDepartment of Environment and Geography, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom; john.wilkinson@york.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-6993-216X
Alistair B A BoxallDepartment of Environment and Geography, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-3823-7516
Dana W KolpinUS Geological Survey, Central Midwest Water Science Center, Iowa City, IA 52240.ORCID 0000-0002-3529-6505
Kenneth M Y LeungState Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.ORCID 0000-0002-2164-4281
Racliffe W S LaiState Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9181-3458
Cristóbal Galbán-MalagónCenter for Genomics, Ecology & Environment, Universidad Mayor, 8580745 Santiago, Chile.ORCID 0000-0001-8397-5804
Aiko D AdellEscuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andres Bello, 8370035 Santiago, Chile.ORCID 0000-0002-9302-7311
Julie MondonLife and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Warrnambool 3280 VIC, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-0643-7540
Marc MetianEnvironment Laboratories, International Atomic Energy Agency, 98000 Monaco, Principality of Monaco.ORCID 0000-0003-1485-5029
Robert A MarchantDepartment of Environment and Geography, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.
Alejandra Bouzas-MonroyDepartment of Environment and Geography, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-4158-2943
Aida Cuni-SanchezDepartment of Environment and Geography, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-8619-1095
Anja CoorsECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH, 65439 Flörsheim am Main, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-9224-2917
Pedro CarriquiribordeCentro de Investigaciones del Medioambiente, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de la Plata, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de Argentina, CP 1900 La Plata Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Macarena RojoCentro de Investigaciones del Medioambiente, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de la Plata, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de Argentina, CP 1900 La Plata Buenos Aires, Argentina.ORCID 0000-0001-7021-8943
Chris GordonInstitute for Environment and Sanitation Studies, University of Ghana, Accra LG 1181, Ghana.ORCID 0000-0003-2734-851X
Magdalena CaraPlant Protection Department, Agricultural University of Tirana, Tirana 1000, Albania.ORCID 0000-0002-1715-8635
Monique MoermondSchool of Public Health, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
Thais LuarteDoctorado en Medicina de la Conservación, Facultad Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andres Bello, 7550196 Santiago, Chile.
Vahagn PetrosyanFaculty of Chemistry, Center for Ecological Safety, Yerevan State University, 0025 Yerevan, Armenia.ORCID 0000-0003-1921-5063
Yekaterina PerikhanyanFaculty of Chemistry, Center for Ecological Safety, Yerevan State University, 0025 Yerevan, Armenia.ORCID 0000-0001-8852-8288
Clare S MahonSchool of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006 NSW, Australia.
Christopher J McGurkSchool of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006 NSW, Australia.
Thilo HofmannDepartment of Environmental Geosciences, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0001-8929-6933
Tapos KormokerDepartment of Emergency Management, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, 8602 Patuakhali, Bangladesh.ORCID 0000-0001-7552-5627
Volga IniguezMolecular Biology and Biotechnology Institute, Universidad Mayor de San Andres, 6042 La Paz, Bolivia.
Jessica Guzman-OtazoDepartment of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm 171 77, Sweden.
Jean L TavaresInstituto Federal De Educacao, Ciencia e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte, 1692 Natal, Brazil.ORCID 0000-0002-5772-0493
Francisco Gildasio De FigueiredoInstituto Federal De Educacao, Ciencia e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte, 1692 Natal, Brazil.
Maria T P RazzoliniCenter for Research in Environmental Risk Assessment, School of Public Health of University of Sao Paulo, 01246-904 Sao Paulo, Brazil.ORCID 0000-0003-3308-9550
Victorien DougnonResearch Unit in Applied Microbiology and Pharmacology of Natural Substances, Research Laboratory in Applied Biology, Polytechnic School of Abomey-Calavi, University of Abomey-Calavi, BP 526 Abomey Calavi, Benin.
Gildas GbaguidiDepartment of Zoology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Abomey-Calavi, BP 526 Abomey Calavi, Benin.
Oumar TraoréSciences Appliquées et Technologies, Université de Dédougou, Ouagadougou BP 176, Burkina Faso.
Jules M BlaisDepartment of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-7188-3598
Linda E KimpeDepartment of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
Michelle WongGlobal Monitoring of Pharmaceutical Consortium, York YO10 5NG, United Kingdom.
Donald WongGlobal Monitoring of Pharmaceutical Consortium, York YO10 5NG, United Kingdom.
Romaric NtchantchoCentre de Recherches Hydrologiques, l'Institut de Recherches Géologiques et Minières, BP 4110 Yaounde, Cameroon.
Jaime PizarroDepartamento de Ingeniería Geográfica, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, 9170022 Santiago, Chile.ORCID 0000-0001-6132-6117
Guang-Guo YingEnvironmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China.
Chang-Er ChenEnvironmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0002-2069-4076
Martha PáezDepartment of Chemistry, Universidad del Valle, Cali 25360, Colombia.
Jina Martínez-LaraDepartment of Chemistry, Universidad del Valle, Cali 25360, Colombia.ORCID 0000-0003-3710-4543
Jean-Paul OtamongaNational Pedagogical University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa 8815, Democratic Republic of Congo.ORCID 0000-0002-0416-848X
John PotéFaculty of Sciences, Department F.-A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva 1205, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-4091-749X
Suspense A IfoEcole Normale Supérieure, Departement des Sciences et Vie de la Terre, Université Marien Ngouabi, BP 69 Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.
Penelope WilsonDepartment of Geography, Geology, and the Environment, Kingston University London, KT2 7LB Kingston, United Kingdom.
Silvia Echeverría-SáenzCentral American Institute for Studies on Toxic Substances, Universidad Nacional, 40101 Heredia, Costa Rica.ORCID 0000-0001-8214-745X
Nikolina Udikovic-KolicDivision for Marine and Environmental Research, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.ORCID 0000-0002-0134-3748
Milena MilakovicDivision for Marine and Environmental Research, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.ORCID 0000-0003-2368-8170
Despo Fatta-KassinosNireas International Water Research Center, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Cyprus, Nocosia 1678, Cyprus.ORCID 0000-0003-1173-0941
Lida Ioannou-TtofaNireas International Water Research Center, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Cyprus, Nocosia 1678, Cyprus.
Vladimíra BelušováFaculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic.
Jan VymazalFaculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic.ORCID 0000-0002-8113-4670
María Cárdenas-BustamanteDepartment of Environment and Geography, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.
Bayable A KassaInstitute of Biotechnology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa 1176, Ethiopia.ORCID 0000-0001-7613-9015
Jeanne GarricLaboratory of Ecotoxicology, lnstitut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, 69100 Villeurbanne, France.ORCID 0000-0001-5637-072X
Arnaud ChaumotLaboratory of Ecotoxicology, lnstitut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, 69100 Villeurbanne, France.
Peter GibbaDepartment of Water Resources, Ministry of Fisheries & Water Resources, Banjul, The Gambia.
Ilia KunchuliaFaculty of Agricultural Sciences and Biosystems Engineering, Georgian Technical University, 380075 Tbilisi, Georgia.
Sven SeidenstickerCenter for Applied Geoscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72074, Germany.
Gerasimos LyberatosSchool of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 10682 Athens, Greece.ORCID 0000-0003-1663-4035
Halldór P HalldórssonResearch Centre in Sudurnes, University of Iceland, Reykjavík 600169, Iceland.ORCID 0000-0001-5529-1536
Molly MellingDepartment of Environment and Geography, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.
Thatikonda ShashidharDepartment of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Hyderabad 502285, India.ORCID 0000-0003-2973-2224
Manisha LambaDepartment of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, 110016 New Delhi, India.
Anindrya NastitiFaculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Environmental Management Technology Research Group, 40132 Bandung, Indonesia.ORCID 0000-0003-4857-5287
Adee SupriatinFaculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Environmental Management Technology Research Group, 40132 Bandung, Indonesia.ORCID 0000-0002-9211-9644
Nima PourangEducation and Extension Organization, Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Tehran 1588733111, Iran.
Ali AbediniEducation and Extension Organization, Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Tehran 1588733111, Iran.
Omar AbdullahDepartment of Environment and Geography, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.
Salem S GharbiaDepartment of Planning and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin, Dublin D14 E099, Ireland.
Francesco PillaSpatial Dynamics Lab, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Benny ChefetzDepartment of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 9190501 Jerusalem, Israel.
Tom TopazDepartment of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 9190501 Jerusalem, Israel.
Koffi Marcellin YaoCentre de Recherches Oceanologiques, 7XP 56V Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.
Bakhyt AubakirovaSchool of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Nur-Sultan 010000, Kazakhstan.ORCID 0000-0001-7106-3111
Raikhan BeisenovaL. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, 010000 Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
Lydia OlakaDepartment of Geology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi 00100, Kenya.
Jemimah K MuluDepartment of Geology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi 00100, Kenya.ORCID 0000-0003-4097-6668
Peter ChatangaDepartment of Biology, National of University of Lesotho, Maseru 180, Lesotho.ORCID 0000-0001-5260-4955
Victor NtuliDepartment of Biology, National of University of Lesotho, Maseru 180, Lesotho.
Nathaniel T BlamaEnvironmental Protection Agency of Liberia, 1000 Monrovia, Liberia.
Sheck SherifEnvironmental Protection Agency of Liberia, 1000 Monrovia, Liberia.ORCID 0000-0002-8293-4637
Ahmad Zaharin ArisDepartment of Environment, International Institute of Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Seri Kembangan, Malaysia.
Ley Juen LooiDepartment of Environment, International Institute of Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Seri Kembangan, Malaysia.
Mahamoudane NiangCentre d'Expertise et de Recherche en Télémédecine et E-Santé, Centre Hospitalier Mère - Enfant, Le Luxembourg, Hamdallaye, Bamako, Mali.
Seydou T TraoreCentre d'Expertise et de Recherche en Télémédecine et E-Santé, Centre Hospitalier Mère - Enfant, Le Luxembourg, Hamdallaye, Bamako, Mali.
Rik OldenkampDepartment of Global Health-Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, Amsterdam Universty Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, 1012 WX Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-2245-6987
Olatayo OgunbanwoDepartment of Fisheries Technology, Ecotoxicology Research Laboratory, Lagos State Polytechnic, 100001 Ikorodu, Nigeria.ORCID 0000-0002-1437-2310
Muhammad AshfaqDepartment of Chemistry, University of Gujrat, Gujrat 50700, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0002-6671-0908
Muhammad IqbalDepartment of Chemistry, University of Gujrat, Gujrat 50700, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0001-8722-2340
Ziad AbdeenAl-Quds Nutrition and Health Research Institute, Al-Quds University, Abu Dies, West Bank, Palestine.
Aaron O'DeaSmithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City 0843-03092, Republic of Panama.ORCID 0000-0001-5495-4764
Jorge Manuel Morales-SaldañaSmithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City 0843-03092, Republic of Panama.ORCID 0000-0001-7961-1725
María CustodioFacultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional del Centro del Peru, 12004 Huancayo, Peru.ORCID 0000-0003-1994-010X
Heidi de la CruzFacultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional del Centro del Peru, 12004 Huancayo, Peru.ORCID 0000-0003-3754-9139
Ian NavarreteDepartment of Environmental Science, Southern Leyte State University-Hinunangan Campus, 6608 Hinunangan, Philippines.ORCID 0000-0001-6701-9951
Fabio CarvalhoLancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-6305-5602
Alhaji Brima GograDepartment of Chemistry, School of Environmental Sciences, Njala University, Bo, Sierra Leone.
Bashiru M KoromaDepartment of Chemistry, School of Environmental Sciences, Njala University, Bo, Sierra Leone.
Vesna Cerkvenik-FlajsVeterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, SI 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.ORCID 0000-0002-3876-8897
Mitja GombačVeterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, SI 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Melusi ThwalaWater Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, 0184 Pretoria, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-9770-2110
Kyungho ChoiSeoul National University, 599 Seoul, South Korea.ORCID 0000-0001-7460-792X
Habyeong KangSeoul National University, 599 Seoul, South Korea.ORCID 0000-0001-9978-7525
John L Celestino LaduCollege of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, University of Juba, Juba, South Sudan.ORCID 0000-0003-3908-8452
Andreu RicoIMDEA Water Institute, Science and Technology Campus, University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-1820-4218
Priyanie AmerasingheInternational Water Management Institute, Colombo 10120, Sri Lanka.
Anna SobekDepartment of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, 114 19 Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-1549-7449
Gisela HorlitzDepartment of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, 114 19 Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-5299-7605
Armin K ZenkerInstitute for Ecopreneurship, School of Life Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-0297-7280
Alex C KingInstitute for Ecopreneurship, School of Life Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-8692-5244
Jheng-Jie JiangDepartment of Environmental Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, 320 Taoyuan, Taiwan.ORCID 0000-0002-2887-723X
Rebecca KariukiDepartment of Environment and Geography, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-7888-7594
Madaka TumboInstitute of Resources Assessment, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.ORCID 0000-0002-1419-6599
Ulas TezelInstitute of Environmental Sciences, Bogazici University, 34342 Istanbul, Turkey.ORCID 0000-0001-8322-1666
Turgut T OnayInstitute of Environmental Sciences, Bogazici University, 34342 Istanbul, Turkey.
Julius B LejjuFaculty of Science, Mbarara University of Science & Technology, 9MM5 6GF Mbarara, Uganda.ORCID 0000-0002-1762-3701
Yuliya VystavnaBiology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Ceske 37005 Budejovice, Czech Republic.
Yuriy VergelesDepartment of the Environment, O. M. Beketov National University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv, 61002 Kharkiv, Ukraine.ORCID 0000-0002-4915-1489
Horacio HeinzenFaculty of Chemistry, Universidad de la República, 11200 Montevideo, Uruguay.ORCID 0000-0001-8985-478X
Andrés Pérez-ParadaDepartamento de Desarrollo Tecnológico, Centro Universitario Regional del Este, Universidad de la República, CP 27000, Rocha, Uruguay.ORCID 0000-0003-0321-8171
Douglas B SimsSchool of Science & Mathematics, College of Southern Nevada, Henderson, NV 89002.ORCID 0000-0003-2427-9555
Maritza FigyGlobal Monitoring of Pharmaceutical Consortium, York YO10 5NG, United Kingdom.
David GoodDepartment of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-6703-2662
Charles TetaFuture Water Research Institute, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, University of Cape Town, 7700 Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-0732-0272

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/R014876/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world's rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Indexed as

EcosystemEnvironmental ExposureEnvironmental MonitoringHumansPharmaceutical PreparationsRiversWastewaterWaterWater Pollutants, ChemicalWater Pollution, ChemicalPharmaceutical PreparationsWastewaterWaterWater Pollutants, Chemicalantimicrobialsaquatic contaminationglobal pollutionpharmaceuticalswastewater

Identifiers

PMID35165193
PMCPMC8872717

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.