RESUMEN
Background: The purpose of this study was to determine energy drink (ED) consumption patterns among Hispanic college students. We measured the prevalence and frequency of ED consumption according to gender, degree programs, and specific university-related and social situations. In addition, we assessed the frequency of consumption of EDs mixed with alcoholic beverages. Methods: A total of 508 college students from the University of Puerto Rico, the largest Hispanic institution of higher education statewide, completed an online questionnaire. Results: Twenty-one percent of participants reported consuming EDs with the majority consuming EDs either occasionally (every 2-3 months) or at least once or twice a month. Men were found to be more likely to consume EDs than women. Undergraduate students were found less likely to consume EDs than graduate students. Most students consumed EDs while studying and during social activities. More than one-third of participants that consume EDs admitted mixing them with an alcoholic beverage. Graduate students were found to consume EDs mixed with alcohol more often. Conclusions: The majority of students consumed EDs occasionally and while studying. Most side effects reported after consuming EDs were similar to previous findings. The higher consumption of EDs and of EDs mixed with alcohol by students in graduate programs could be explained by a higher and more complex study load requiring longer periods of wakefulness and concentration. Future studies looking at the consumption patterns of EDs in more competitive graduate programs such as medical and/or dentistry school should be considered.
RESUMEN
Evaluation and measurement of intelligence contributes significantly to the scientific endeavor of psychology as a science. This study was exploratory and descriptive, with twenty young patients with epilepsy from Puerto Rico of ages between 16-20 years. Compared the execution of a matched group of the normative sample and the group of adults 21 to 64 years with epilepsy belonging to the standardization sample in Puerto Rico. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical calculations. Survey results reflect significant differences in the scores of the subtests that make up the intelligence scale EIWA-III. In all measures, the group of participants with epilepsy rate was lower than the reference group. The comparison of scores on the subtests that measure executive functions was analyzed by the working memory index (WMI). Based on the data obtained, the performance in executive functions EIWA-III is significantly lower in participants with epilepsy compared to the reference groups. Analysis of variance/ANOVA showed no significant differences between IQ scale for implementation (F = 8.77) with a probability of 0.001, CI scale (F = 4.35) was 0.01 and verbal scale IQ (F = 2.67) was 0.05 for the group of young patients from 16 to 20 years with epilepsy, their IQ score compared with the normative group on the subscales that comprise the Verbal Scale, Performance and Total rates of IQ trial EIWA-III. In light of these results, the statistically significant differences for each subscale: Verbal IQ, Performance, Total and indexes EIWA-III, suggest that the level of intelligence of sample group, 16 to 20 years old with epilepsy, was below average in comparison with the normative group. The results are consistent with the literature on cognitive neuropsychology and performance of subjects with epileptic diseases.
