ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Adolescents are considered the main consumer group of Energy Drinks (EDs). EDs are associated with adverse cardiovascular events, such as severe cardiac arrhythmia or arterial hypertension. Recent studies of our department revealed a significantly increased brachial blood pressure and arterial stiffness after the acute ED consumption in healthy adolescents. Increased central blood pressure is linked with the onset of end-organ damages such as left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute effects of ED consumption on central hemodynamics in healthy children and teenagers.

Methods: This study was a prospective, randomized, single‐blind, placebo‐controlled, crossover clinical trial. Study participants received a bodyweight-adjusted amount of an ED (3mg caffeine per kg of bodyweight) or a placebo-beverage with similar sugar content but without conventional ED ingredients on two consecutive days. Ambulatory pulse wave analysis was executed using an oscillometric blood pressure device (Mobil-O-Graph®), which assessed the following parameters automatically: central systolic blood pressure (cSBP, mmHg), central diastolic blood pressure (cDBP, mmHg), central pulse pressure (cPP, mmHg) and pulse wave velocity (PWV, m/s). Cardiovascular measurements between one and four hours after beverage consumption were averaged. The absolute change to baseline was calculated. A paired t-test was applied to compare the absolute changes of the cardiovascular parameters studied between both groups. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: In total, 20 adolescents were included in the present study (mean age: 14.49 years, 55% male). Cardiovascular parameters studied, did not show significant differences at baseline. The acute ED consumption led solely to a significantly higher absolute change of cDBP compared to the placebo-beverage (0.21±5.87 mmHg vs. -4.33±7.49 mmHg; P=0.023). In addition, the absolute change of PWV tended to be higher after the acute ED consumption (0.16±0.36 m/s vs. -0.07±0.45 m/s; P=0.056).

Conclusions: The results of this study suggest an increase of central blood pressure after the consumption of a single, bodyweight-adjusted ED amount. The increased central blood pressure can lead to a higher LV afterload, subtle impairment of cardiac function and hence an elevated cardiovascular risk. Therefore, the chronic ED consumption might cause the onset of LV hypertrophy. Adolescents with chronic cardiovascular conditions (e.g., arterial hypertension) should be discouraged from the ED consumption. Further research is required investigating the effects of chronic ED consumption on central hemodynamics and end-organ damages in minors.