Background Energy drinks (ED) are caffeine based soft drinks usually used to boost performance and endurance. Despite the ED consumption could be an useful option to improve mood, the lockdown strongly affected mental health, particularly increasing anxiety and sleep disorders, particularly among university students. A cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate the change in ED consumption in a sample of Italian University students and its association with different mental health outcomes, in particular anxiety and sleep disorders. Methods The study was performed in year 2023 among students attending the “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy. The survey was composed by four main sections: demographic charactestics; ED consumption before, during and after pandemic; the anxiety level assessed by the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI); the sleep quality assessed by Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Categorical variables were compared with Chi-squared test. Continuous variables were compared with Kruskall-Wallis test. At least 378 students should be enrolled accordingly to sample size estimation. Results A total of 404 participants were enrolled in the study and completed the survey. The median STAI score was 98 (IQR 79-110) and the median ISS score was 11 (IQR 7-16). ED non-users represented the great part of subjects both in lockdown period and in pre-pandemic period, respectively 323 (80%) and 308 (76.2%). The 9.8% on participants reported an increase in ED consumption after pandemic. Subjects that consume ED more than 3 time/week reported significantly higher STAI (p=0.031) and higher ISS (p=0.002) compared to others. In addition, subjects that reported higher ED consumption, are more frequently affected by clinical insomnia (p<0.001). Conclusions As reported in this study, energy drinks consumption can influence the mental health of students leading also to poor sleep quality. Further studies are needed to evaluate factors associated with ED consumption to develop preventive strategies aimed at limiting the harmful.
Effect of energy drinks consumption on anxiety and insomnia among university students after pandemic: a cross sectional study
Di Martino G.
;Di Giovanni P.;Cedrone F.;Vaccaro F.;Staniscia T.
2024-01-01
Abstract
Background Energy drinks (ED) are caffeine based soft drinks usually used to boost performance and endurance. Despite the ED consumption could be an useful option to improve mood, the lockdown strongly affected mental health, particularly increasing anxiety and sleep disorders, particularly among university students. A cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate the change in ED consumption in a sample of Italian University students and its association with different mental health outcomes, in particular anxiety and sleep disorders. Methods The study was performed in year 2023 among students attending the “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy. The survey was composed by four main sections: demographic charactestics; ED consumption before, during and after pandemic; the anxiety level assessed by the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI); the sleep quality assessed by Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Categorical variables were compared with Chi-squared test. Continuous variables were compared with Kruskall-Wallis test. At least 378 students should be enrolled accordingly to sample size estimation. Results A total of 404 participants were enrolled in the study and completed the survey. The median STAI score was 98 (IQR 79-110) and the median ISS score was 11 (IQR 7-16). ED non-users represented the great part of subjects both in lockdown period and in pre-pandemic period, respectively 323 (80%) and 308 (76.2%). The 9.8% on participants reported an increase in ED consumption after pandemic. Subjects that consume ED more than 3 time/week reported significantly higher STAI (p=0.031) and higher ISS (p=0.002) compared to others. In addition, subjects that reported higher ED consumption, are more frequently affected by clinical insomnia (p<0.001). Conclusions As reported in this study, energy drinks consumption can influence the mental health of students leading also to poor sleep quality. Further studies are needed to evaluate factors associated with ED consumption to develop preventive strategies aimed at limiting the harmful.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
