Caffeine, cognitive failures and health in a non-working community sample

Smith, Andrew Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8805-8028 2009. Caffeine, cognitive failures and health in a non-working community sample. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental 24 (1) , pp. 29-34. 10.1002/hup.991

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Rationale Most studies of the effects of caffeine on performance have been conducted in the laboratory and further information is required on the real-life effects of caffeine consumption on cognition. In addition, possible effects of caffeine consumption on a range of health outcomes should also be assessed in these studies to enable cost-benefit analyses to be conducted. Objectives Secondary analyses of a large epidemiological database (N  = 3223 non-working participants, 57% female, with a mean age of 49.6 years, range 17–92 years) were conducted to examine associations between caffeine consumption (mean caffeine consumption was 140 mg/day, range 0–1800 mg) and cognitive failures (errors of memory, attention and action) in a non-working sample. Associations between caffeine consumption and physical and mental health problems were also examined. Methods The study involved secondary analyses of a database formed by combining the Bristol Stress and Health at Work and Cardiff Health and Safety at Work studies. Associations between caffeine consumption and frequency of cognitive failures and health outcomes were examined in a sample of non-workers. Results After controlling for possible confounding factors significant associations between caffeine consumption and fewer cognitive failures were observed. Initial analyses suggested that many health variables were associated with regular level of caffeine consumption. However, most of the significant effects of caffeine disappeared when demographic and lifestyle factors were controlled for. Consumption of caffeine was, however, associated with a reduced risk of depression. These effects were also observed in separate analyses examining the source of the caffeine (coffee and tea). Conclusions Overall, the results show that caffeine consumption may benefit cognitive functioning in a non-working population. This confirms earlier findings from working samples. This beneficial effect of caffeine was not associated with negative health consequences. Indeed, consumption of caffeine was found to be associated with a reduced risk of depression

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RC Internal medicine
Additional Information:	Caffeine ; Cognitive failures ; Health ; Depression
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
ISSN:	0885-6222
Last Modified:	20 Oct 2022 08:27
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/28417

Citation Data

Cited 71 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item