Caffeine intake from all sources in adolescents and young adults in Austria

Assessment of caffeine intake as part of the risk assessment of caffeine in adolescents and young adults aged 14-39 years from foods, beverages and drugs, and to identify the main contributors to caffeine intake.

Assessment of caffeine intake by a validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire including all caffeine-containing foods and beverages based on laboratory analysis of caffeine content and caffeine-containing drugs in a cross-sectional study design in a sample of 700 subjects (353 men and 347 women) designed to be representative for the Austrian population in respect to an age of 14-39 years and sex.

The caffeine intake of the total sample on average was 357±400 mg per day (5.3±6.0 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day) with a median intake of 259 mg per day (3.7 mg/kg bw per day) and intakes at the 95th percentile of 957 mg per day (14.5 mg/kg bw per day). Major contributors to caffeine intake were coffee (60.8%), energy drinks (11.9%) and colas (9.5%). Caffeine intake based on kilogram bw was significantly higher for subjects aged 26-39 years compared with subjects aged 14-17 years and 18-25 years (P=0.012).

The highest potential for the reduction in caffeine intake is by reducing coffee consumption; the elimination of any other caffeine source would not result in substantial decreases in caffeine intake.