Elucidation of Caffeine Intake and Reasons for Use Among Medical Staff

Introduction Caffeine use is highly prevalent among people especially who work night shift. Energy drinks (EDs) are extremely popular among adults and adolescent. Most of them contain caffeine. Reduced vigilance is a common issue in healthcare work environments and is associated withimpaired cognitive performance and decision-making ability as well as increased errors and injuries. Using energy drinks that contain caffeine is a common way to decrease fatigue and sleepiness. Caffeine has obviously positive impacts upon alertness and mood after consumption for a short time. However, excessive caffeine consumption can have a significant impact on an individual’s health. Methods In this study, weinvestigate the intake of caffeine from different sources among medical staff. A quantitative, cross-sectional approach with a descriptive design was used for this study. 150 people participated in our analysis. Our population consist of physicians, pharmacists and nurses. Intake from tea, coffee, energy drinks, soft drinks and supplements was measured. Results and discussion Our results showed that approximately 90% ofmedical staff consume caffeine in any form. Tea and coffee were two main sources of caffeine intake. A tiny minority of medical staff consume caffeine supplements. They were aware that caffeine has short- and long-term effects on health. They use caffeine for different reasons and the most important was for awareness. Also some people just use energy drinks due to its taste. Conclusion In conclusion, drinkingcaffeine containing drinks by medical staff can be variable and comes from different sources. Tea is the primary source of caffeine intake among the medical staff in Iran. A majority of the participants are not heavy users and the majority of medical staff use caffeine because of awareness.

کلیدواژه ها:

Awareness ، Caffeine ، Coffee ، ، Medical staff