Abstract
The aim of our study was to explore whether energy drink consumption is associated with both emotional and behavioural problems and whether this association might be mediated by amount of sleep and breakfast consumption among adolescents. The nationally representative Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, realised in 2018 in Slovakia in schools, was used to acquire needed data, with the research sample of 8405 adolescents from 11 to 15 years old (mean age = 13.43; 50.9% boys) who completed the questionnaires on their own in a presence of researchers and research assistants. Emotional and behavioural problems were assessed by a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, while energy drinks consumption, breakfast consumption and sleep duration was assessed by questions in line with the HBSC study protocol. Linear regression models assessed the associations between energy drinks consumption and emotional and behavioural problems. Mediation by sleep duration and breakfast consumption was assessed with parallel mediation models. Energy drink consumption was significantly associated with emotional (p < 0.001) and behavioural problems (p < 0.001), with higher consumption of energy drinks leading to more emotional and behavioural problems. Results from a parallel mediation analysis indicated that energy drink consumption is indirectly related to both emotional and behavioural problems through its relationship with the amount of sleep and breakfast consumption. Parents and professionals working with adolescents should be aware that unhealthy dietary habits and lack of sleep might be related to emotional and behavioural problems.
Highlights
Emotional and behavioural problems, which occur mainly in childhood and adolescence, affect approximately 10–25% of child and adolescent populations [1,2] can have long-lasting consequences for adolescents and for their families and society as a whole [3]
The aim of our study was to explore whether ED consumption is associated with emotional and behavioural problems and whether this association might be mediated by the amount of sleep and breakfast consumption among adolescents
We found that sleep duration mediated the association between EDs consumption and both emotional and behavioural problems among adolescents
Summary
Emotional and behavioural problems, which occur mainly in childhood and adolescence, affect approximately 10–25% of child and adolescent populations [1,2] can have long-lasting consequences for adolescents and for their families and society as a whole [3]. Previous research has confirmed that regular energy drink (hereinafter referred to as EDs) consumption in adolescents might be considered as one of those potential risk factors, as it has been associated with a wide range of emotional and behavioural problems including depression, stress, anxiety, emotional difficulties, self-destructive, violent and risky behavior [4,5,6,7,8,9] These adverse effects are related mainly to the consumption of a high amount of caffeine, which can exceed 500 mg in some EDs, whereas the safe dose is 200 to 300 mg [10,11].
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