Patterns of caffeine consumption among medical undergraduates in Secunderabad, Telangana, India

Caffeine products are increasingly found in a wide range of products that abuse of the substance may be unnoticed. Introduction of new energy drinks has led to an increase in consumption of caffeine in the last few decades. Caffeine is a cognitive booster and has physically enhancing effects, leading to its higher consumption across various age groups. The objective of this study was to determine patterns of caffeine consumption and to determine the knowledge and awareness of side effects and safety limits of caffeine consumption among medical undergraduate students.

A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2021 to February 2022 in the Department of Community Medicine at a tertiary care institute, Secunderabad, Telangana, India, among 560 medical undergraduate students of all academic years. A predesigned, pretested, semistructured questionnaire was administered.

The mean age of the study population was 19.09 years, and female preponderance (61.2%) was noted. The average self-reported caffeine consumption was 151.3 mg/day. The average caffeine consumption was found to be higher among males (174 mg/day) as compared to females (137 mg/day). The average consumption of caffeine during exam time was higher than the daily ceiling limit, >300 mg/day, in 38.1% of students, which was statistically significant (P = 0.015).

Caffeine consumption during times of stress increased among medical students, which is an unfavorable sign as the majority of the times, medical students in future have to deal with physically and emotionally stressful situations during work hours.