Abstract

BARDONI, Natalia; CONTARTESE, Cecilia Mariel  and  OLMOS, Valentina. Assessment of caffeine daily intake in children and adolescents from Argentina. Acta toxicol. argent. [online]. 2015, vol.23, n.1, pp.5-14. ISSN 1851-3743.

Caffeine (1,3,7 trimethylxanthine) is an naturally occurring alkaloid. It is present in many beverages such as coffee, tea, cocoa, mate, guarana, soft drinks and energy drinks, and foods, widely consumed by adults, adolescents and children. Since information about caffeine intake in children and adolescents in our country is scarce, the aims of the study were set as follows: a) estimate the caffeine daily intake of children and adolescents from Argentina, b) associate the intake to different variables such as gender, age, socioeconomic status (SES) and place of residence; c) study the relationship between caffeine intake and sleep duration, and d) assess the contribution of different beverages to the caffeine daily intake. Information on non alcoholic beverages consumption was obtained from 425 participants up to 20 years old. Participants were from different cities and of different SES all over the country. Results showed that the caffeine mean daily intake increased (11 , 43 , 76 , 132 and 233 mg/day ) with age range (up to 2 , 3 to 5, 6 to 12 , 13 to 17 and 18 20 years old, respectively), but when the intake was related to body weight (mg/ kg/day) the increase was not so marked. Fifty percent of children up to 2 years old had never consumed any caffeinated beverage. However, from ages 3 and up, more than 90% of children regularly consumed at least one caffeinated beverage. The mean daily intakes for the evaluated children and adolescents were higher to those reported by other authors for other countries. When data were analyzed by gender, place of residence or SES, no differences in caffeine intake were observed. No relationship between caffeine intake and sleep duration for any age group was found, except for the age group of 18-20 years, where a significant decrease in average sleep duration for the group of individuals with extreme intake was observed. Soft drinks showed to be main contributors to the mean caffeine daily intake, although mate also highlighted in that aspect. Characterization of the caffeine daily intake and identification of the major and minor contributors to that intake are remarked as achievements of this study. And finally, although caffeine mean daily intake obtained in this study could be considered as elevated when compared with those reported for other countries, it should be noted that a recommended daily intake value for children and adolescents has not already been set.

Keywords : Caffeine; Children; Adolescents; Intake.

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