A review of energy drinks and mental health, with a focus on stress, anxiety, and depression

Richards, Gareth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0233-0153 and Smith, Andrew Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8805-8028 2016. A review of energy drinks and mental health, with a focus on stress, anxiety, and depression. Journal of Caffeine Research 6 (2) , pp. 49-63. 10.1089/jcr.2015.0033

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Abstract

Background: Concerns have been expressed regarding the potential for caffeinated energy drinks to nega- tively affect mental health, and particularly so in young consumers at whom they are often targeted. The prod- ucts are frequently marketed with declarations of increasing mental and physical energy, providing a short- term boost to mood and performance. Although a certain amount of evidence has accumulated to substantiate some of these claims, the chronic effects of energy drinks on mental health also need to be addressed. Methods: To review the relevant literature, PubMed and PsycINFO were searched for all peer-reviewed ar- ticles published in English that addressed associations between energy drink use and mental health outcomes. Case reports were also considered, though empirical studies investigating acute mood effects were excluded as a review of such articles had recently been published. Fifty-six articles were retrieved: 20 of these (along with eight more identified through other means) were included in the current review, and, because the ma- jority addressed aspects of stress, anxiety, and depression, particular focus was placed on these outcomes. Results: Though a number of null findings (and one negative relationship) were observed, the majority of studies examined reported positive associations between energy drink consumption and symptoms of men- tal health problems. Conclusions: Though the findings imply that energy drink use may increase the risk of undesirable mental health outcomes, the majority of research examined utilized cross-sectional designs. In most cases, it was therefore not possible to determine causation or direction of effect. For this reason, longitudinal and inter- vention studies are required to increase our understanding of the nature of the relationships observed.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Publisher:	Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Publishers
ISSN:	2156-5783
Funders:	The Waterloo Foundation
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	6 April 2016
Date of Acceptance:	16 February 2016
Last Modified:	15 May 2023 14:32
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/88843

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