Scary is the increase of up to 60% in the use of antidepressants and antipsychotics and cocaine from March ’19 to November ’21 finds the study of the Department of Chemistry of EKPA, according to the head of the research team, professor of analytical Chemistry Nikolaos Thomaidis, on the Fm Agency and on the show of Tania I. Mantouvalos “104.9 HEALTH SECRETS”.

About cocaine

As for cocaine, its use remains from the summer of 2020 to a higher decade, it marks an increase of around 60% from 2019 and concerns about 2% of the population of Attica, as reported by Mr. Thomaidis. “The analyzes we do at the Wastewater Treatment Center in Psyttalia, showed us that from November ’20 to November ’21, there was an additional increase in the use of anxiolytics (mainly benzodiazepines, with oxazepam being the champion). 36%, compared to March ’20. These levels decreased in the following period, in the summer of ’21 and the same use of November ’21 reappeared. That is, from the continuous analysis of wastewater that we do since March 2020, it seems that the use of anxiolytics has a periodicity. It increases from November to March and then decreases “.

At a very high level the use of paracetamol

The same periodicity occurs to a lesser extent in antidepressants, according to the professor. “However, these levels are similar to the first record (which compared to ’19 had increased by some drastic around 60%) and peaked again in March ’21, in the extended lock we had since November ’20” .

Big increase in antipsychotics as well

As for antipsychotics, there was a large increase during the great economic crisis in ’14 and ’15, but after this difficult period there was a slight decline in their use, says Mr. Thomaidis, to add that “On March 21, there was an increase of 58% compared to March ’19.” In the first period of the pandemic in 2020 from the analyzes in the sewage, the team of Professor Thomaidis observed a large increase in antibiotics and antibiotics. After the first period, they showed a relative decrease, because, as he explains, he changed the cocktail of medicines given by doctors in hospitals.

However, he points out that the use of paracetamol remains at a very high level. “And in fact it is interesting to find that this also has the peak of January to March of ’21, in the summer there is a fall and then a rise again.”