Use of caffeinated energy drinks among secondary school students in Ontario: Prevalence and correlates of using energy drinks and mixing with alcohol

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Caffeinated energy drinks have become increasingly popular among young people, raising concern about possible adverse effects, including increased alcohol consumption and related risk behaviours. The current study examined consumption of caffeinated energy drinks and use of energy drinks with alcohol, as well as associations with socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics, among a sample of secondary school students in Ontario.METHODS: Survey data from 23,610 grade 9-12 students at 43 purposefully sampled Ontario secondary schools participating in the baseline wave (2012/13) of the COMPASS study were analyzed using generalized linear mixed-effects models. Outcomes were any energy drink use, frequency of use, and use of alcohol mixed with energy drinks; covariates were age, sex, race, spending money, body mass index (BMI), weight-related efforts and alcohol use. Two-way interactions between sex and other covariates were tested. RESULTS:Nearly one in five students (18.2%) reported consuming energy drinks in a usual week. Use of energy drinks was associated (p < 0.01) with all socio-demographic variables examined and was more common among students who were male, off-reserve Aboriginal, had some spending money, had a BMI outside of "healthy" range, were trying to lose weight, and/or reported a higher intensity of alcohol use. Interactions with sex were observed for age, spending money and weight-related efforts. Use of energy drinks mixed with alcohol in the previous 12 months was reported by 17.3% of the sample, and was associated with race, spending money, and more frequent binge drinking.CONCLUSION: Regular use of energy drinks was common among this sample of students and strongly linked to alcohol consumption.KEY WORDS: Adolescent; energy drinks; caffeine; health behaviour La traduction du résumé se trouve à la fin de l'article.

Consumption of energy drinks among Québec college students

“…Our study results align with those of other studies linking ED consumption to smoking, 5,7,26,29 heavy alcohol use 5,7,25,26 and cannabis use. 7,29 Our investigation also shows associations between ED consumption at least once a week and amphetamine use.…”

“…These observations coincide with the findings of earlier studies. 5,7,16,20,[24][25][26] They are also consistent with ED marketing, which especially targets young men. 27 Similar to data on frequency of consumption, data on quantity of ED and AED consumed are relatively reassuring.…”

Adverse effects of caffeinated energy drinks among youth and young adults in Canada: a Web-based survey

“…Indeed, the prevalence of energy drink consumption in the current study was similar to or slightly higher than that in other, larger provincial and national studies. [57][58][59] The effects of any sample bias are unclear; however, failure to adequately represent "at-risk" youth in the sample would lead to lower estimates of prevalence and, possibly, lower estimates of adverse outcomes. In addition, all adverse effects are reported as proportions among energy drink users, so even if the current study underor overrepresented energy drink users in this age group, the proportion of users experiencing adverse outcomes would not be expected to differ.…”

Survey on Energy Drink Consumption Among the Adult Population in Sicily: Do New Drinking Habits Associate with the Risk of Alcoholism in the Crib of Mediterranean Diet?

“…There are several articles about the consumption of EDs in the literature, especially among the student population or adolescents (1,(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22), while there is a paucity of studies on the adult population. The phenomenon may assume an important dimension in countries characterized by a large diffusion of the Mediterranean Diet, especially in Sicily, where a significant deviation from the Mediterranean dietary habits (and associated health benefits) among adolescents, younger, and less educated people has been well documented (23,24).…”