Risky behaviors, substance use, and other lifestyle correlates of energy drink consumption in children and adolescents: a systematic review.

Increasing concerns have been raised on the health-related risks connected with energy drink (ED) consumption in children and adolescents, with high acute or chronic consumers exceeding 10% in either age group in Europe in 2011. Preliminary evidence has suggested a common pattern of ED and substance use, especially alcohol. Additional evidence has been accumulating very fast; in addition, other lifestyle and risky behaviors may contribute to shed light on the complex interplay of factors involved in ED consumption. We have undertaken a comprehensive systematic review of the evidence on psychosocial correlates of ED consumption in 0-18 years subjects, as published up to April 1, 2021, in MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Reviews and Central Register of Controlled Trials, which allowed to select 104 original articles. Only ~ 10% of the papers provided results based on longitudinal analyses. A common pattern of ED consumption and polysubstance use, including alcohol, tobacco, and soft and hard drugs, was still confirmed in adolescents; violent and risky behaviors were also related to a higher ED consumption. In addition, frequent ED consumers are more likely to have bad dietary habits, including consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and junk foods. A generally inconclusive evidence was found for sport/physical activities, although sedentary behaviors were generally related to ED consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Frequent ED consumption might be a screening indicator to identify students at risk of substance use or other risky/problem behaviors; enquiring about an adolescent's recent ED consumption could create opportunities for early intervention/prevention by informed pediatricians. WHAT IS KNOWN: • Substances, especially alcohol, are associated with energy drinks in most cross-sectional studies. WHAT IS NEW: • Violent behaviors are associated with energy drink consumption, in the absence of longitudinal studies; problematic use of internet/videogames deserves further investigation; unhealthy dietary patterns are related to energy drinks; evidence on physical activity is inconclusive, but sedentary behaviors are related to energy drinks.

Psychological and socio-educational correlates of energy drink consumption in children and adolescents: a systematic review.

Energy drinks (EDs) are non-alcoholic beverages providing an extra boost in physical/cognitive performance and mood. Besides the physiological effects related to the high-caffeine content of EDs, long-term emotional, social, and behavioral effects have been recently receiving attention. However, a few systematic reviews have focused on the critical yet understudied periods of childhood and adolescence. We have undertaken a comprehensive systematic review of the evidence on any psychosocial correlates of ED consumption in 0-18-year-old subjects, as published up to April 1, 2021, in MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Reviews and Central Register of Controlled Trials. Of the initial 789 records, 104 original articles were included in the systematic review. Seventy percent of them were published from 2016 onwards; among investigated topics, substance use ranked first, followed by psychological and socio-educational factors; the less investigated topic was risky behaviors. Taste and energy-seeking were the main drivers of consumption, which generally happened at home or during sport/recreational activities, without perception of health-related risks. Positive associations with ED consumption were found for sensation seeking, irritability/anger, and suicide ideation, plan, or attempts. Finally, participants with lower grades, a low parental monitoring, or bad influences from peers were more likely to consume EDs. Conclusion: With ~ 70% of papers published since the 2 comprehensive reviews on children/adolescents were carried out, an update of the literature with a broad focus is of great importance. Consumption of EDs by children/adolescents lies in the potential interplay between personality traits, school performance, and influences by family members and peers. What is Known: • Taste and energy-seeking are the main drivers of energy drink consumption, which mostly happened at home or in sport/recreational activities. What is New: • Perception of risks related to energy drinks is associated with a lower consumption, as based on cross-sectional studies. • As mostly based on cross-sectional studies: 1. energy drink consumption is related to sensation seeking, irritability/anger, and suicide ideation or attempts; 2. students with a lower school performance, low parental monitoring, or bad peer influence, are more likely to consume energy drinks.