THE IMPACT OF ENERGY DRINKS ON HEALTH MEDICAL STUDENTS

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The volume of energy drinks supply in Russia is getting bigger every year. In percentage terms, the supply of energy drinks on the Russian market increased by 14.9 – 30.0% every year [1].
The problem of consuming energy drinks is important due to the possible negative impact of this product on various organs, organ systems and the body as a whole. According to a number of researchers, caffeine contained in energy drinks can cause drug dependence (withdrawal syndrome) with prolonged use, have psychostimulating effects. EA Zemskova, in her work on the experimental study of a possible withdrawal syndrome in laboratory animals after 30 days of consuming caffeine-containing energy drinks, came to conclusions about a decrease in motor activity, an increase in anxiety levels and the presence of a number of signs that do not exclude the presence of withdrawal syndrome in test animals compared with the control group. Negative dynamics of the weight of white rats was also observed [2]. Also, a number of researchers of the Department of Pathological Physiology of RostSMU of the Ministry of Health of Russia under the leadership of Alekseev V.V. when studying the effect of an energy drink on the motor activity of laboratory animals for one month, they came to conclusions about a decrease in research activity, and also noted an increase in the level of anxiety in experimental animals, compared with the control group [3]. There is a number of data from foreign researchers [4] on the negative impact of energy drinks on the cardiovascular system. In an experiment by scientists led by Sachin A. Shah when comparing various indicators (QT, PR, QRS complex, heart rate, SAD, DAD, cSAD, cDAD), it turned out that after drinking energy drinks, systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased by 5 and 4 mmHg [5]. A persistent increase in blood pressure by 2 mmHg increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 7%, the risk of stroke by 10% [5]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the annual mortality from diseases of the cardiovascular system is 17.3 million people, which is 30% of all deaths [6].
However, today there is a tendency to increase the consumption of various energy drinks, especially among students.
THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of our study was to study the frequency and causes of energy drink consumption among medical students, subjective assessment of health status and side effects after drinking drinks. And also to analyze the qualitative and quantitative composition of popular drinks presented in the questionnaire.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
At the beginning of the study, a review of the research literature was conducted. Then, for 14 days, an anonymous voluntary questionnaire consisting of 31 questions on the Google Forms platform was conducted among students of 1-6 courses of the medical, pediatric and dental faculties of N.N. Burdenko VSMU [7] and analyzed using the IBM SPSS statistical data processing program (the country of the program development is the USA), the percentages of students' opinions on various questionnaire questions were calculated. The sample consisted of 150 students, its size was not previously calculated.
The qualitative and quantitative composition of 4 different energy drinks was evaluated.
THE RESULTS OBTAINED
We conducted a survey of 150 volunteers from the pure students of N.N. Burdenko VSMU, 80% of them were girls (120 people), 20% were boys (30 people). Most of the respondents are in the age group from 18 to 25 years - 93.3%. The study involved students of medical (43.3%), pediatric (29.3%), dental (17.3%), preventive medicine (4.7%) faculties, as well as students of the Institute of International Education MIMOS (5.3%) from 1st to 6th year inclusive.
For convenience, the questionnaire was divided into 4 thematic blocks: students' knowledge about energy drinks; the use of energy drinks by medical students (frequency, causes); the impact of energy drinks on the condition and health of students; personal attitude to these products.
Students were asked to answer questions about what an energy drink is, which brands students have an idea about, and the respondents' opinion about the price-quality ratio of energy drinks was also clarified. As further statistical processing showed, 93.3% of students know or have heard about the existence of this product. Adrenaline Rush (96%) and Red Bull (94.7%) were the most popular among the youth of Burdenko State Medical University. 59.3% of respondents also noted that the quality does not depend on the price of the product, and 40% believe that the higher the cost, the safer and better the energy drink.
As a result of the analysis, it was found that 80% of students consume energy drinks. The absolute majority (85%) noted that they most often use these drinks to restore their strength during the session week. Many people prefer to drink energy drinks during rest (15.3%). As the main reasons, respondents noted the lack of their own energy forces of the body (56%), as well as a pleasant taste (46%) and an acceptable price category (9.3%).
When asked about the purposes of drinking these drinks, most students answered about the possibility of cheering up (65%), improving performance (40%) and improving mood, getting positive emotions (32%). As a result of the survey, it was also revealed that students most often consume energy drinks in the evening. When asked about the frequency of use, 23.3% - 1-2 times a month, 22.7% - 1-2 times a half-year, 15% - 1-2 times a year, and only 14.9% use more often 1-2 times a week. One-time students prefer to drink one large jar – 450 ml (60%) or one small one – 180 ml (40%).
A question was also asked about the possible use of other caffeine-containing products at the same time (on the same day) in addition to energy drinks. About 74% of respondents said that it is impossible to combine energy drinks and products containing caffeine, while 26% allow a combination of these products, which can be extremely dangerous for health.
When subjectively assessing their own state of the body after drinking energy drinks, it turned out that 35% of students consider energy drinks effective, with 14.7% noting the onset of the effect almost immediately, 37.3% - within 30 minutes, 16.7% - within the first hour after consumption.
70% of respondents note an increase in working capacity after using energy drinks.
Half of the surveyed students (54.7%) noted undesirable side effects after using various energy drinks. Thus, respondents noted limb tremor (11.3%), headaches (5.3%), loss of consciousness (2%), allergic reactions (4%), increased excitability (20%), increased blood pressure (23.3%), cardiac arrhythmia (26%).
We have analyzed the qualitative and quantitative composition of energy drinks. Several popular brands of energy drinks of different price categories were selected: "Adrenaline rush", "Flash energy", "Burn" (zero sugar), "Red Bull". The energy value per 100 ml, respectively, was 230 kj/54 kcal, 210 kj/50 kcal, 10kj/2kcal, 195 kj/46 kcal. Thus, the lowest energy value was observed in the manufacturer of the brand "Burn" without sugar, for the rest of the representatives the difference was no more than 20 kj. According to the qualitative composition, all presented energy drinks contained water, acidity regulators, taurine ("synthetic analogue of caffeine") ("Adrenaline rush" -240 mg/100ml, "Flash energy" - 120 mg/100 ml, "Burn" (zero sugar)-240 mg/100ml, "Red Bull" - 400 mg/100 ml), flavors, caffeine ("Adrenaline rush" -30 mg/100 mg, "Flash energy" - 27 mg , "Burn" (zero sugar)-32 mg, "Red Bull"- 32 mg), vitamin B6 ("Adrenaline rush" -0.8 mg, "Flash energy"- 0.6 mg, "Burn" (zero sugar)-0.4 mg, "Red Bull"- 2 mg), dyes, as well as sugar (the exception is "Burn" without sugar). Other components varied depending on the manufacturer. Adrenaline rush also contained L-carnitine, stabilizers, inositol, guarana seed extract, ginseng root, vitamin B12. The composition of "Flash energy" was supplemented with an antioxidant, niacin, pantothenic acid, potassium sorbate, folic acid, sodium benzoate. "Burn" (zero sugar) contained, in addition to common components, niacin, pantothenic acid, preservatives potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate, sweeteners, maltodextrin. "Red Bull" also included niacin and pantothenic acid.

About the authors

Viktoria Shcherbakova

Author for correspondence.
Email: vik224sher@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0410-4355
SPIN-code: 9926-8364
Russian Federation

References