Prevalence of pesticides in European water and relationship for public health: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundThere is currently a growing interest in the so-called emerging pollutants, such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal hygiene care products, drugs, etc., whose presence in natural ecosystems is not necessarily recent, but the development in latest years of new and more sensitive methods of analysis have allowed their detection. They can be present in the natural environment, in food, and in many products of everyday origin, which suggests that human exposure is massive and universal. These contaminants correspond, in most cases, to unregulated substances, which may be candidates for future regulations, depending on research on their potential health effects and monitoring data regarding their prevalence. Therefore, the study of this type of substances is becoming one of the priority lines of research of the main agencies dedicated to the protection of public and environmental health, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or the European Union (EU). In this sense, it is of vital importance to know the nature and quantity of this type of contaminants, to establish preventive mechanisms that minimize their presence in the environment, including, of course, aquatic systems, with special requirements for water human consumption. MethodsThis systematic review and meta-analyzes protocol is conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes (PRISMA) statement guidelines and the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions. The papers should include monitoring studies carried out in pesticides polluted waters in Europe. Prevalence studies of emerging contaminants (pesticides) in water resources (watersheds, aquifers, river, marine and springs), waste waters (influent and effluent) and drinking water should be included. Therefore, the comprehensive search strategy will be conducted in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, ScienceDirect. Two independent reviewers will conduct all study selection procedures, data extraction, and methodological evaluation, and disagreements will be referred to a third reviewer. RevMan 5.3 software will be used to gather data and perform the meta-analysis if possible. DiscussionThis systematic review should provide evidence on the presence of pesticides in European waters in order to establish preventive mechanisms that minimize their presence in the environment. Dissemination and ethicsThe findings of this scoping review will be disseminated in print, at conferences, or via peer-reviewed journals. Ethical approval is not necessary as this paper does not involve patient data. Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42022348332.