Association between Awareness on the Neurophysiologic Effects of Caffeine and Consumption of Caffeinated Beverages among Saudi University Students

Caffeine is known to have numerous neurophysiologic effects. This study aimed to determine the association between university students’ awareness on the neurophysiologic effects of caffeine and their coffee consumption.

An analytic cross-sectional study design was utilized. A 45-item questionnaire was distributed to 523 randomly selected students at the College of Applied Medical Sciences at King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. Collected data was subjected to estimation of proportion and logistic regression analyses using EpiInfo version 7.

Coffee consumption was prevalent among the university students (58.62%, 95% CI: 54.22% - 62.89%). Majority of university students were unaware about the potential effects of caffeine to reduce suicide risk and the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Increased coffee consumption was associated with awareness that caffeinated beverage consumption could lead to a decrease in suicide risk (OR = 1.6286, p = 0.0506) and awareness that caffeinated beverage consumption could help increase alertness (OR = 2.4462, p = 0.0458).

Caffeinated-beverage consumption is prevalent among Saudi university students. Awareness on potential increased alertness effects of caffeine consumption were significantly associated with caffeinated beverages consumption.