Energy drink consumption and its relationship to alcohol use disorders and impulsiveness in health sciences students in Turkey

Abstract

Purpose: We aimed to examine energy drink (ED) consumption and its relationship to alcohol use disorders and impulsiveness in health sciences students.Design and Methods: This cross-sectional research was conducted with 1202 health sciences students. Data collection tools were "Energy Drink Consumption Form," "Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)," and "Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11)."Findings: Of the students, 30.6% who used EDs reported doing so in the past year. AUDIT and BIS-11 scores of students with high ED consumption were higher than those with less ED consumption and who do not consume at all (p < 0.05).Practice Implications: Education of students in departments of health should include EDs and their drawbacks as part of nutrition or health coursework.

Alcohol Mixed with Energy Drinks (AmED) Use among University Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…All the studies included male and female subjects with a range of 18–34 years; the sample size ranged from 72 [ 56 ] to 10,340 individuals [ 60 ]. The evaluation of ED consumption frequency is based mainly on a monthly report [ 26 , 30 , 33 , 35 , 38 , 39 , 41 , 45 , 49 , 50 , 52 , 54 , 55 , 59 , 61 , 63 ], less commonly on a yearly report [ 29 , 34 , 37 , 42 , 53 , 60 , 62 , 64 ] and on a weekly report in only two studies [ 23 , 54 ]. Thirteen articles analyzed AmED consumption in comparison with the consumption of alcohol alone [ 24 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 41 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 53 ] while four articles compared the AmED consumption with EDs only [ 28 , 29 , 42 , 44 ].…”

“…As for the quality assessment, a total of 25 articles showed a poor quality rating, which means with important limitations that could invalidate the results and high risk of bias in general [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 31 , 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 , 41 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ]. A total of 15 assessed studies reported a fair quality rating, with no known important limitation that could invalidate the results and with a moderate or acceptable risk of bias [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 35 , 37 , 42 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 58 , 61 ] and only two studies reported a good quality rating with all criteria met and a very low risk of bias [ 32 , 33 ].…”

“…The adverse effects related to AmED consumption were investigated in 20 out of the 42 selected articles. Endanger themselves by driving [ 28 , 31 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 41 ], high propensity for sensation seeking, impulsiveness, interpersonal consequences and having arguments or fights [ 29 , 30 , 37 , 39 , 41 , 42 ] and headache or dizziness [ 43 , 46 , 49 , 51 ] were mainly reported by participants. Other quite frequently reported adverse effects were difficulty to limit the alcohol quantity or binge drinking [ 30 , 32 , 38 , 39 , 41 ], unwanted or particular sex behaviors [ 30 , 31 , 39 , 43 ], depression symptoms, anxiety, suicidal thoughts or attempts [ 32 , 34 , 53 , 62 ] and sick stomach [ 26 , 43 , 46 , 49 ].…”

“…Only thirteen studies investigated reasons behind the AmED consumption, revealing so many of them with a common thread: to get drunk [ 30 , 35 , 40 , 42 , 48 , 63 ], to reduce negative effects of alcohol, to relax or to enjoy at parties [ 23 , 30 , 42 , 57 , 64 ], to hide the alcohol’s flavor or reduce sedation of alcohol alone [ 35 , 48 ], to treat hangover [ 34 , 62 , 63 ]; other reasons instead were more wider, such as to celebrate [ 23 , 30 , 40 ], for common availability [ 38 ], to keep themselves awake and increase alertness [ 34 , 35 , 38 , 45 , 62 ] and finally because they simply liked the taste [ 30 , 40 ].…”

“…However, also physiological causes, such as nutritional deficiencies, dehydration, hormonal changes or the activation of reward-related brain areas, can determine their consumption [ 74 ]. Among the examined studies only thirteen investigated the reasons behind the AmED consumption, revealing several common threads beyond to get drunk: to reduce negative effects of alcohol, to relax or to enjoy at parties [ 23 , 30 , 42 , 57 , 63 ] to hide the alcohol’s flavor or reduce sedation of alcohol alone [ 35 , 48 ] to treat hangover [ 34 , 62 , 63 ]. A non-negligible percentage of university students consume AmEDs to hide the flavor of alcohol, to drink more and feel less drunk and this data is in line with the literature [ 48 , 52 ].…”