Assessment of Trends of Consumption of Caffeine Containing Products and their Effects on Medical Undergraduate Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51985/JBUMDC202293Keywords:
Addiction, Caffeine, Substance Abuse, WithdrawalAbstract
Objectives: To assess trend of consumption and withdrawal effects from caffeine containing products among medical
undergraduate students of Karachi.
Study design and setting: Cross-sectional study conducted via web-based questionnaire, from January 2020 to June 2021.
Methodology: Undergraduate medical, MBBS students aged 18-24 years, studying in 6 different medical universities of
Karachi were included in the study. An online survey was conducted. An online questionnaire was designed which consisted
of 28 self-made questions that focused on collecting basic sociodemographic information, coffee consumption habits, and
any adverse event associated with caffeine intake. The questionnaire was posted online and undergraduate medical students
were invited to participate in the study.
Results: One hundred and fifty seven students participated in the study. Out of 157 students 94% admitted to consuming
some form of caffeine containing product (CCP), with 42.3% (n = 66) of the total believing that they were addicted to
caffeine. A significant number also believed that CCPs helped students deal with their problems. Withdrawal symptoms
include migraines, sleep disturbances, and loss of focus, leading to an inability to perform daily tasks. A positive correlation was also found between the daily intake of any CCP and incidence of withdrawal symptoms (p=0.01).
Conclusion: Many students in medical universities of Karachi are moving towards caffeine dependence, due to daily
consumption over a prolonged period of time. Promoting responsible consumption habits and spreading awareness over
potential adverse effects of CCPs, especially amongst a younger audience could improve the health and lifestyles of students in the long-term
References
Jain RB. Levels of caffeine and its metabolites among U.S.
smokers and non-smokers. Environmental Toxicology and
Pharmacology. 2015;39(2):773–86. DOI: https://doi.org/
1016/j.etap.2015.02.002
Massey LK, Whiting SJ. Caffeine, urinary calcium, calcium
metabolism and bone. J Nutr 1993; 123(9):1611–4 DOI:
1093/jn/123.9.1611
Elbendary, E. Y., Salem, S. F., Makrami, H., Gadri, E.,
Consumption of energy drinks among college female students
and its effect on blood chemistry. Int.J.Curr.Res.Biosci.Plant
Biol. 2017; 4(11): 14-23 DOI https://doi.org/10.20546 /ijcrbp.
411.003
Meredith SE, Juliano LM, Hughes JR, Griffiths RR. Caffeine
use disorder: a comprehensive review and research agenda.
Journal of caffeine research. 2013;3(3):114-30. DOI https://doi.
org/10.1089%2Fjcr.2013.0016
Champlin SE, Pasch KE, Perry CL. Is the consumption of
energy drinks associated with academic achievement among
college students? The journal of primary prevention.
;37(4):345-59. DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-016-
-4
Attila S, Çakir B. Energy-drink consumption in college
students and associated factors. Nutrition. 2011;27(3):316-
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2010.02.008
Ágoston C, Urbán R, Király O, Griffiths MD, Rogers PJ,
Demetrovics Z. Why do you drink caffeine? The development
of the motives for caffeine consumption questionnaire (Mccq)
and its relationship with gender, age and the types of caffeinated
beverages. Int J Ment Health Addiction [Internet].
;16(4):981–99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-
-9822-3
Rogers PJ, Heatherley SV, Mullings EL, Smith JE. Faster but
not smarter: effects of caffeine and caffeine withdrawal on
alertness and performance. Psychopharmacology. 2013;
(2):229-40. DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-012-2889-
Lyvers M, Brown T, Thorberg FA. Is it the Taste or the Buzz?
Alexithymia, Caffeine, and Emotional Eating. Substance use
& misuse. 2018:1-1 DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084
.2018.1524490
Anderson JR, Hagerdorn PL, Gunstad J, Spitznagel MB.
Using coffee to compensate for poor sleep: impact on vigilance
and implications for workplace performance. Applied
ergonomics. 2018;70:142-7. DOI https://doi.org/10.1016
/j.apergo. 2018.02.026
Jain S, Srivastava AS, Verma RP, Maggu G. Caffeine addiction:
need for awareness and research and regulatory measures.
Asian journal of psychiatry. 2017 Feb 4. DOI https://doi
.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2017.01.008
Khan MS, Nisar N, Naqvi SAA, Nawab F. Caffeine
Consumption and Academic Performance among Medical
Students of Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS),
Karachi, Pakistan, Annals ASH KM&DC. 2017; 22: 81-7
https://www.annals-ashkmdc.org/index.php/ashkmdc
/article/view/126
Mohsin M, Syed J. The missing doctors - An analysis of
educated women and female domesticity in Pakistan. Gender,
Work & Organization. 2020;27(6):1077-102. DOI https://doi.
org/10.1111/gwao.12444
Kharaba Z, Sammani N, Ashour S, Ghemrawi R, Al Meslamani
AZ, Al-Azayzih A, et al. Caffeine consumption among various
university students in the UAE, exploring the frequencies,
different sources and reporting adverse effects and withdrawal
symptoms. Valdés-Ramos R, editor. Journal of Nutrition and
Metabolism [Internet]. 2022 May 18 [cited 2022 Jul
;2022:1–7.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/5762299
Temple JL. Caffeine use in children: What we know, what
we have left to learn, and why we should worry. Neuroscience
& Biobehavioral Reviews [Internet]. 2009 Jun [cited 2022
Jul 8]; 33(6):793–806.DOI: https://doi.org/10.29309/TPMJ
/2020.27.12.4631
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical
manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). American Psychiatric
Pub; 2013 May 22
Sweeney MM, Meredith SE, Juliano LM, Evatt DP, Griffiths
RR. A randomized controlled trial of a manual-only treatment
for reduction and cessation of problematic caffeine use. Drug
and Alcohol Dependence [Internet]. 2019 Feb [cited 2022 Jul
;195:45–51.DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j. drugalcdep. 2018.
034
Moaouad J, Kazour F, Haddad R, Rouhayem J, Chammai R,
Richa S. Chemical and behavioural addiction of medical
students. Comparative study in Lebanese students. L'Encephale.
;38(6):467-72 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.encep.2011.
010
Clark I, Landolt HP. Coffee, caffeine, and sleep: A systematic
review of epidemiological studies and randomized controlled
trials. Sleep medicine reviews. 2017 Feb 1;31:70-8. DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2016.01.006
Robillard R, Bouchard M, Cartier A, Nicolau L, Carrier J.
Sleep is more sensitive to high doses of caffeine in the middle
years of life. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 2015;29(6):688-
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0269881115575535
Temple JL. Review: trends, safety, and recommendations for
caffeine use in children and adolescents. Journal of the
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
[Internet]. 2019 58(1):36–45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jaac. 2018.06.030
Doepker C, Franke K, Myers E, Goldberger JJ, Lieberman
HR, O’Brien C, et al. Key findings and implications of a
recent systematic review of the potential adverse effects of
caffeine consumption in healthy adults, pregnant women,
adolescents, and children. Nutrients [Internet]. 2018 Oct [cited
Jul 8];10(10):1536. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/
nu10101536
Hoyt LT, Cohen AK, Dull B, Maker Castro E, Yazdani N.
“Constant stress has become the new normal”: stress and
anxiety inequalities among u. S. College students in the time
of covid-19. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2021
Feb;68(2):270–6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth
.2020.10.030
Hassan U. Prevalence and awareness of caffeine consumption
among the medical students. The Professional Medical Journal
[Internet]. 2020 Dec 10 [cited 2022 Jul 8];27(12):2763–8.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Fatima Fakhir Musharraf, Asad Ali Siddiqui, Muhammad Mustafa Ali, Shazia Fakhir Durrani, Fatima Abid, Aijaz Qureshi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Journal of Bahria University Medical & Dental College is an open access journal and is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. which permits unrestricted non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 
