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Worldwide threat to the ecosystem Fish in lakes and rivers are burdened with antidepressants
In recent years, the use of antidepressants has continued to increase. These drugs are mostly used to treat depression and other mental illnesses. Researchers now found that using antidepressants could change our entire ecosystem.
Researchers at the University at Buffalo found in their study that small amounts of antidepressants enter our lakes and rivers and affect water quality there. Traces of various antidepressants have been found in the brains of several fish species that live in large lakes. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "Environmental Science and Technology".
The brains of fish in large lakes in the US contain antidepressants. The drugs affect the survival instinct and the behavior of the fish. (Image: dieter76 / fotolia.com) Despite the treatment of wastewater, antidepressants enter lakes and rivers
An increasing number of people are taking so-called antidepressants. Of course, remnants of these drugs must be eliminated from the body. So the drugs end up in our toilets, from there they are forwarded to a process of wastewater treatment in sewage treatment plants. Even after such a treatment, it is possible that antidepressants enter our rivers and lakes, the experts explain.
Zoloft, Prozac, Celexa and Sarafem were found in the brains of fish
Researchers found that the brains of large-lake fish species in America are high in active antidepressants and so-called metabolites (by-products). The antidepressants found in brains included, for example, Zoloft, Prozac, Celexa and Sarafem, the researchers explain.
Pollution of the water poses a threat to biodiversity
The species involved include, for example, species of fish such as white and yellow perch, perch, zander and pike. The observed level of concentration is not potentially harmful to humans, yet the antidepressants in the water should be considered a problem, explains author Professor Diana Aga of the University at Buffalo. "We should be very worried because contaminating water with antidepressants poses a threat to biodiversity," adds the expert.
Antidepressants in the water change the behavior of shrimp
Previous studies have already shown that antidepressants in water, for example, tempt shrimp to suicidal behavior. The shrimp swim in the direction of the light, instead of swimming away from the light. This makes them more susceptible to predators and birds, explains Professor Aga.
Antidepressants affect the feeding behavior and survival instinct of fish
Other research has shown that antidepressants affect the feeding behavior and survival instinct of fish. For example, some fish are no longer adequately responsive to the presence of predatory fish. These effects have the potential to affect sensitive ecological balances in large lakes, which are already besieged by invasive species, explain the physicians. Ultimately, this could even affect sport fishing in such waters.
In the US, more and more people are taking antidepressants
In the US alone, the use of antidepressants increased by 65 percent between 2002 and 2014. Residues of the drugs are excreted with the human feces and get into rivers and lakes and finally into the fish.
Fish take antidepressants directly from the water
Before the study, the scientists suspected that the higher concentration of drugs in large predatory fish caused by the so-called bioaccumulation. This process refers to the accumulation process of pollutants when large fish eat medium-sized fish, which in turn eat small fish. But the current study found that fish do not absorb antidepressants by eating small fish, but they take the medication directly from the water.
Wastewater treatment plants should also remove antidepressants from wastewater in the future
Sertraline, the active ingredient in Zoloft, was found in a concentration twenty times higher than normal. Concerns about pharmaceutical contamination of lakes and rivers have legitimately increased sharply since the use of prescription drugs has skyrocketed, say the authors. In addition, today we have the technological capabilities to detect even very small amounts of medicines in waters. Most wastewater treatment plants are not designed for such drugs, they are more specialized in killing E. coli bacteria. When the adverse effects of antidepressants on the ecosystem are described by U.S. Pat. According to the Environmental Protection Agency or the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, it is urgently necessary to develop filtration systems for these drugs in the future, according to the researchers. (As)