Abstract
Although caffeine is sometimes associated with beneficial effects in adults, the substance may be dangerous if intake is too high. This concern is particularly relevant in regards to children and adolescents, as consumption of energy drinks may be particularly high in such populations. For this reason, the current study examined data from the Cornish Academies Project to determine whether caffeine intake in secondary school children was related to responses to a single-item measure of general health. Two cross-sections of data were available: questionnaires were completed by 2030 at baseline, by 2307 at 6-month follow-up, and by 1660 at both time-points. Relationships were, therefore, explored both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. High caffeine consumption (i.e., 1000 mg/week) was associated with low general health in both cross-sections of data, and analyses of individual caffeine sources suggested that the effects related specifically to cola and energy drinks. However, after controlling for additional aspects of diet, demography, and lifestyle, total weekly intake only remained significantly associated with general health at the latter time-point. Further to this, null findings from cross-lag and change-score analyses suggest that caffeine and general health were unlikely to be causally linked in this sample. However, due to methodological limitations, such as the two cross-sections of data being collected only 6 months apart, it is suggested that further longitudinal and intervention studies are required in order for firm conclusions to be drawn.
Highlights
Caffeine (1,3,7-trimelthyxanthine) is one of the most commonly consumed dietary ingredients [1], and the world’s most widely used psychoactive substance [2]
The sum of caffeine intake from coffee, tea, energy drinks, and cola was calculated to provide an estimate of total weekly intake
An umbrella analysis conducted by Grosso et al [12] reported that coffee and caffeine intake are typically associated with health benefits in adults, findings from the current study showed that high caffeine consumption was associated with low general health, and that caffeine intake from coffee was not associated with health at all
Summary
Caffeine (1,3,7-trimelthyxanthine) is one of the most commonly consumed dietary ingredients [1], and the world’s most widely used psychoactive substance [2]. Through its action as an adenosine receptor antagonist, caffeine has a major effect on the central nervous system [4], and is known to affect the cardiovascular system [5, 6], and diuresis [7]. Meta-analyses have found caffeine intake to be associated with increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure [e.g., Ref. Mesas et al [9] found no support for associations between longterm coffee consumption and either increased blood pressure or increased risk of cardiovascular disease, caffeine intake was shown to produce acute increases in blood pressure. Other meta-analyses have shown positive health effects of caffeine. Hernán et al [11] for instance, found that coffee consumers were at reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease compared to non-consumers
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