The Relationship of Caffeine Intake with Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Sleep in Korean Adolescents

Abstract

BackgroundIn various studies in adults, caffeine may increase wakefulness and relieve pain, but caffeine overdose can cause many adverse serious effects on health. Caffeine intake has recently been increasing in adolescents. In spite of importance of caffeine effects on Korean adolescents, there are lack of scientific and systematic studies. The purpose of our study was to identify the relationship between caffeine consumption and effects on adolescents.MethodsWe performed study on 234 middle school students at one middle school in Daegu using a self-report questionnaire. We divided students to quartiles according to amount of caffeine intake. We used Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to evaluate the degree of depression and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) to evaluate the degree of anxiety. We also used Insomnia Severity Scale (ISI) to evaluate the degree of insomnia and Global Assessment of Recent Stress (GARS) to evaluate the stress in students. We used logistic regression analysis to identify the relationship between caffeine consumption and effects.ResultsHigher caffeine intake was associated with higher weight, height, lower academic achievement, and higher score in BDI, BAI, ISI, and GARS (P for trend <0.005). Higher caffeine intake quartile was associated with greater odds of having significant depression (BDI ≥10, P for trend=0.011), and insomnia (ISI ≥8, P for trend=0.015) after adjustment for factors that can affect the psychological status.ConclusionWe found that caffeine intake is associated weight, height, academic achievement, and higher score in BDI, BAI, ISI, and GARS. Caffeine intake was positively associated with the severity of depression and the severity of insomnia among adolescents in Korean.

Association between energy drink intake, sleep, stress, and suicidality in Korean adolescents: energy drink use in isolation or in combination with junk food consumption

“…It is notable that highly frequent energy drink consumption, but not moderately frequent consumption, was positively related to high academic achievement in our study. This finding was somewhat inconsistent with previous studies that reported the association between energy drink intake and lower academic performance [ 28 , 34 ]. Considering the tendency to increase study hours at the cost of sleeping hours among Korean students [ 8 ], students whose grades are in the upper ranks may habitually use highly caffeinated drinks with high frequency for its wakening effect.…”

High Carbonated Soft Drink Intake is Associated with Health Risk Behavior and Poor Mental Health among School-Going Adolescents in Six Southeast Asian Countries

“…Moreover, carbonated soft drinks often contain additives, such as caffeine [3]. Caffeine can "potentiate the addictive and toxic effects of drugs of abuse" [17], has been found to increase the risk for in a physical fight among adolescents [4], and was associated with anxiety and depression among school adolescents [18,19].…”

WITHDRAWN: Correlates of highly caffeinated beverage consumption among Korean adolescents

“…Similarly, adolescents who consumed HCBs were more likely to feel stressed, sad and depressed, feel unrested after sleep, and have suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts. Adolescents who feel stressed and unrested may choose to consume HCB for temporary relief, though it may lead to the development of long-term sleep problems [5,6,13,24].…”

“…Relatively less attention was given to factors that may influence individuals' decision to use HCB, such as nutrition [20,21], physical activity level [22], and body mass index (BMI) [23]. Few of the studies that considered such factors were not generalizable to the entire Korean adolescent population [21,24]. For example, BMI, on one hand, may be positively associated with HCB consumption, as HCB often contain added sugar linked to adiposity and weight gain [25].…”