Caffeine: a toxicological overview

The health effects of caffeine have been examined in a review of its toxicological and pharmacological properties together with its effect on children. Caffeine commonly causes symptoms of an acute overdose and withdrawal symptoms. These may be identified as anxiety in moderate consumers and can lead to severe central nervous system effects in heavy consumers. Pharmacological effects occur even at low doses but their severity is influenced by wide individual variation and the development of tolerance. Nevertheless, chronic consumption of caffeine is implicated in various minor symptoms of ill health and is associated with elevated serum cholesterol levels. At the doses that are consumed by humans, there is little evidence at present to suggest effects on reproduction, teratogenesis, tumour formation or the incidence of myocardial infarction. A reduced consumption of caffeine is advocated for all age groups.