Are energy drinks linked to drug use?

Conclusion This cross-sectional survey has assessed the self-reported use of energy drinks and soft drinks among a large nationally representative sample of almost 22,000 US secondary school students. It found that roughly a third of adolescents aged 13 to 18 years reported drinking energy drinks daily, and just under half reported drinking regular soft drinks daily. The use of energy drinks and soft drinks was slightly higher among those in the 8th grade (13 to 14 years) than the 10th or 12th grades. The researchers found a general trend that increased use of energy drinks was associated with increased use of substances, including alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and amphetamines. Associations were also found with increasing use of soft drinks, but the links weren't quite so strong. It is important to be aware, however, that the prevalence of substance use was quite low, particularly when observing that the greatest associations with all substances were found for the youngest in the 8th grade. The 8th grade had the lowest rate of substance use of all the years. Although a link between the consumption of energy drinks, regular or diet soft drinks was found with amphetamine for the 8th grade, only 1.7% of the 8th grade reported amphetamine use (any frequency). When looking at associations with an outcome that is quite rare, the results may be less reliable. The important thing to realise is that although the researchers discuss various plausible theories about why there may be ...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Pregnancy/child Food/diet Source Type: news