Prevalence of energy drinks consumption and adverse effects among medical students

Prevalencia del consumo de bebidas energizantes y efectos adversos en estudiantes de medicina

Introduction: energy drinks (ED) are stimulant and carbohydrate preparations. Objective: to determine the prevalence, characteristics of ED usage and adverse effects among students of a medical program Methodology: an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective study, which included medical students of a higher education institution. Those who were not completing the full academic load for their semester, those who responded the survey inadequately or did not agree to participate in the study, were excluded.  Results and discussion: 241 students participated, of which 72,20% were females. Only 55 reported symptoms such as insomnia (13.69%) and headache or migraine (8.30%) and 49.38% reported on ED consumption. To combine energy drinks with alcohol is probable, given the high alcohol consumption rate (51.26%), while it was not associated with smoking. Adverse events reported were insomnia (21.58%), tachycardia (17.43%), headache (14.52%), facial flushing (13.28%) and tremor; and to a lesser extent, anxiety, and gastrointestinal disorders (17.42%). Conclusions: energy drinks consumption is high at adolescence, especially among university students. These preparations can produce long-term adverse effects mainly cardiovascular complications. Thus, monitoring ED marketing is important.

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