Use of Cognitive Enhancers by Portuguese Medical Students: Do Academic Challenges Matter?

Miranda, Miguel; Barbosa, Miguel

doi:10.20344/amp.14220

Cited by 11 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“… 36 In Portugal, a recent study (2021) found a low off-label consumption of PCE substances among medical undergraduates (5%), although higher among licensing exam applicants (14%), with nootropics mainly being consumed rather than CNS stimulants (e.g., caffeine and food supplements). 37 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the use of cognitive enhancement substances among Portuguese university students

Cavaco

Ribeiro

Nørgaard

2022

Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the use of cognitive enhancement substances among Portuguese university students

Cavaco

Ribeiro

Nørgaard

2022

Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy

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Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our search yielded 419 results of which 13 articles [ 1 , 5 - 16 ] were included for NPS use and six articles [ 17 - 22 ] for high caffeinated drinks use. The studies on NPS use among medical students totaled 11029 medical students and 970 among them were using NPS [ 1 , 5 - 16 ]. There were six studies on caffeinated drink use among medical students (Table 1 ) which included 3154 students, and among them most used coffee as a source of caffeine and some of them used high caffeinated energy drinks to cope with academic stress and wakefulness [ 17 - 22 ].…”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stimulant Usage by Medical Students for Cognitive Enhancement: A Systematic Review

Plumber¹,

Majeed²,

Ziff³

et al. 2021

Cureus

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Stimulants have been used throughout human history for a variety of reasons. High levels of stress and the demanding nature of medical school make their usage among medical students particularly common. The most prevalent stimulant used by students is coffee, followed by tea and other forms of caffeine like sugary energy drinks. In addition, amphetamine-based medications for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been increasing in popularity, which many students take illicitly. Students report taking various forms of stimulants to promote cognitive enhancement, prolong wakefulness and retain focus for long periods of time. Moderate doses of caffeine and amphetamines would lead to enhanced alertness and concentration. However, large increases in dosage or frequency would lead to an increased risk of toxicity and adverse effects. The positive outcomes from stimulant consumption are often overshadowed by the negative side effects and incorrect dosage. Thus, it appears that usage of stimulants should be limited, in favor of a more sustainable approach to cognitive enhancement. This review analyzes the use of stimulants among the medical student community, consequences of misuse and discussed the healthy and organic approaches to lessen the stress and improve academic performance. This article also discusses the mechanisms of action, acceptable doses, additives, ingredients of stimulants commonly used by medical students for cognitive enhancement and the implications of long-term use as the stress of practicing medicine extends well beyond the medical school years.

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“…Research suggest that persons with low-to-average intellect benefit the most from cognition-enhancing medications (Ram et al, 2017). The university students are believed to be common users of CE to boost attentiveness, increase vigilance, stay awake for an extended period, or do better intellectually (Miranda and Barbosa, 2021a;Ram et al, 2021). With the explosion of knowledge the students are turning to use CEs to strengthen and increase their attention, memory, vitality, and other measures of wellbeing (binti Suhaimi & binti Hussin, 2017;Lanning and Mallek, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the explosion of knowledge the students are turning to use CEs to strengthen and increase their attention, memory, vitality, and other measures of wellbeing (binti Suhaimi & binti Hussin, 2017;Lanning and Mallek, 2017). The lifetime prevalence of CE usage among university students has been observed to be between 1.2 -34 % (Lengvenyt _ e and Strumila, 2016; Lengvenyte et al, 2016;Miranda and Barbosa, 2021a;Riddell et al, 2018). Low consideration of negative health consequences and principles of use are associated with unnecessary use among healthy individuals (Colaneri et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concept generation of cognitive enhancement: healthcare professionals' approach towards the impact and utilization of cognitive enhancers in academic context

Shakeel

Iffat

Qamar

et al. 2021

Heliyon

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Cognitive enhancers (CEs) encompass a wide range of drugs, including prescription medications for attention deficit disorders and pharmacological compounds for cognitive enhancement. It is well-documented that the students are the leading cohort of CEs users. Exploring how healthcare professionals perceive the use of CEs for academic accomplishments is significant to understand their encouragement of CE use. Hence, the purpose of the current study was to look at healthcare professionals' attitudes and perceived understanding about the usage of CEs in academic contexts. The study was a quantitative cross-sectional research design conducted in different healthcare and academic settings of Karachi. The respondents were approached either through social media platforms or the official email addresses of their working organizations. Data were collected through a web link of an online questionnaire that included four sections; inquiring about the respondents' demographics characteristics, their knowledge about CEs, their attitudes towards the use and impact of CEs, and their inclination to use a hypothetical prescription-only CE. The response rate of the study was 73.3%. The majority of the respondents negated to permit university students to using CEs for cognitive boost (n ¼ 360, 67.1%), to concentrate (n ¼ 406, 75.7%), to increase vigilance (n ¼ 394, 73.5%) or to mitigate the effects of other medicines (n ¼ 312, 58.2%). The pharmacists were more likely to refute that using CEs by the students is safe (pharmacists 10.8% vs. physicians 8.3%, p¼<0.001), beneficial (pharmacists 12.7% vs. physicians 5.3%, p¼<0.001), or necessary (pharmacists 17.6% vs. physicians 12.8%, p¼<0.001). The major reasons for not encouraging the use of CEs were fear of misuse (n ¼ 510, 95.1%), safety concerns (n ¼ 495, 92.3%), and their consideration for CE as unnecessary medical intervention (n ¼ 441, 82.2%). The findings indicated that overall, respondents have a clear consensus of not letting university students use CEs for cognitive improvement or any other purpose implying that cognitive enhancement is not yet a common or approved medical practice by the healthcare professionals in Pakistan.

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Use of Cognitive Enhancers by Portuguese Medical Students: Do Academic Challenges Matter?

Cited by 11 publications

References 18 publications

Exploring the use of cognitive enhancement substances among Portuguese university students

Exploring the use of cognitive enhancement substances among Portuguese university students

Stimulant Usage by Medical Students for Cognitive Enhancement: A Systematic Review

Concept generation of cognitive enhancement: healthcare professionals' approach towards the impact and utilization of cognitive enhancers in academic context

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