News
Headache, other symptoms, linked to energy drink use in adolescents
16th February 2017
We came across an interesting article recently in relation to energy drinks and there side effects.
Headache, other symptoms, linked to energy drink use in adolescents
Energy drink use in adolescents is linked to headache and difficulty breathing requiring medical evaluation.
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Study design
At 2 emergency departments from 2011 to 2013, a convenience sample of 612 adolescents aged 12-18 y completed questionnaires.
The findings were stratified by frequent (>1 time/mo; n=202; 33%) and infrequent energy drink consumption (<1/mo).
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Key results
High-risk behaviors and consumption of other caffeinated drinks were more common in frequent vs infrequent consumers.
In the previous 6 mo, frequent vs infrequent energy drink consumers were more likely to report headache (76%), anger (47%), increased urination (24%), and medical evaluation for headache (41%) and difficulty breathing (22%).
Beliefs of frequent consumers included that energy drinks "help me do better in school/sports" (12%/35%), "are just for fun" (46%), "help me stay up at night" (67%), and "make me concentrate/focus better" (34%).
Why this matters
Educating adolescents and clarifying common misconceptions about limiting the energy drink use may reduce symptoms requiring medical evaluation.