Consumo de bebidas energéticas en población universitariaconocimiento y efectos sobre la salud

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: About 30 years ago, a new group of beverages appeared on the market characterized by their high caffeine content, and which were called "Energy Drinks" (ED). Although at the beginning its consumption was scarce, in the last 2 decades there has been an exponential growth of it. EDS are designed to be consumed preferably by adolescents and young adults. Although at first, they did not seem to cause health problems, in the last decade they have been associated with the appearance of various pathologies. OBJECTIVES: To analyze the level of knowledge of the composition of EDS and their possible secondary effects, prevalence, intensity, and justification for the consumption of EDS among the university population. To compare the primary objectives according to age, sex and university studies completed, and to analyze whether the consumption of this type of product is associated with other habits such as the consumption of coffee, alcohol, or tobacco. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional, observational, and prospective study carried out between April 2018 and January 2019. A self-filling survey was carried out asking about ED. It contained 21 items grouped into 3 sections: sociodemographic data, knowledge and consumption habits of ED, and consumption of other beverages (alcoholic and caffeinated). The population studied were university students of Medicine, Dentistry, Engineering and Sports who were studying in the first or last courses of their respective degrees in the years 2018 and 2019 at the UEM. The survey was completed in the classroom, being anonymous and voluntary. Descriptive and comparative statistics were performed and for the comparison of qualitative variables in different groups, the test or Fisher's exact test was used if necessary. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 1,343 students with a response rate of 84%. 87.3% of those who filled out the survey have tried ED, with an average age of the first consumption of 15.17 years. Although most believed they knew the chemical composition of ED, only about half said it contained taurine and caffeine. The most known side effects after ED consumption were tachycardia (50.8%), nervousness (22.3%), insomnia (18.3%) and hypertension (6.6%). 31% of those surveyed consumed at least one can per month and most of these consumed an average of 1 can per week. The most frequent reasons for consumption were to be awake to study (36.1%), for its pleasant taste (31.3%) and to stay active in recreational activities (14.9%). Up to half of them used to consume it with alcohol. There is a statistically significant association between tobacco use, age, being male, and ED consumption. No significant differences were found in the knowledge and consumption of BE between the different grades studied. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reflects a relatively high EDS consumption in the university population and a low awareness of its composition and possible side effects. We believe that the country's public health agencies should take act on the matter by informing the population of the risks of its consumption. It is necessary to continue carrying out studies on consumption in the adult population to see if this consumption is fundamentally youthful or is maintained over time in adulthood.