This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Responses to caffeine differ by gender only after puberty
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Boys and girls respond differently to caffeine, but only after puberty, according to study findings in Pediatrics.
Jennifer L. Temple, PhD, from the departments of exercise and nutrition sciences and community health and health behavior at the University at Buffalo’s School of Public Health and Health Professions, and colleagues administered 300 mL of flavored soda containing 1 or 2 mg/kg of caffeine or placebo to 96 children.
Temple and colleagues compared children aged 8 to 9 years (boys, n= 26; girls, n=24) and adolescents aged 15 to 17 years (boys, n=26; girls, n=20). Caffeine or placebo drinks were administered six times overall; three times over the course of a week and three times 2 weeks later.
Among adolescent girls, sessions occurred during the mid-follicular phase and the midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Study participants refrained from soda and caffeine-containing products for 24 hours prior to their appointment.
In postpubertal girls, mean ± SEM concentrations of estradiol were 1.5 ± 0.3 pg/mL in the mid-follicular phase and 1.9 ± 0.3 pg/mL in the midluteal phase. Mean ± SEM concentrations of progesterone were 30.2 ± 9.5 pg/mL in the mid-follicular phase and 55.1 ± 10.9 pg/mL in the midluteal phase.
Postpubertal participants were more likely to drink soda (93% vs. 78%); tea (87% vs. 64%); coffee (35% vs. 8%); and energy drinks (28% vs. 6%) than prepubertal participants. Postpubertal boys consumed more caffeine than postpubertal girls.
Both doses of caffeine significantly reduced heart rate and increased systolic blood pressure compared with placebo. Regarding heart rate, there were significant interactions between caffeine dose and gender and between pubertal group, gender, and caffeine dose. Regarding blood pressure, there were no gender differences in response to caffeine among prepubertal participants. However, significant gender differences were reported in caffeine response among postpubertal participants.
Caffeine administration lowered heart rate significantly more in the midluteal phase and increased systolic blood pressure significantly more in the follicular phase.
“These findings replicate our earlier work showing gender differences in cardiovascular responses to caffeine and extend those findings by showing that these gender differences emerge after puberty. One potential explanation for this finding is that changes in steroid hormones that occur with pubertal development alter the metabolism of caffeine, which results in differential cardiovascular responses to caffeine in boys compared with girls,” the researchers concluded.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Perspective
Back to TopGerald Whitman, MD
This article highlights many interesting facts surrounding the effects of caffeine on our youth that could be very useful in the daily clinical practice of pediatrics.
Many of the sugary sweet drinks that children drink have significant amounts of caffeine in them. While pediatricians as a whole discuss healthy eating habits and weight control, most do not address the issue of caffeine directly. By informing parents and children of some of the negative aspects of caffeine discussed in this article, such as “felling tired,” “sleepy,” and “stomach ache,” as well as the significant increase in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pediatricians can add further validity to the dietary approach they are advocating . While the article showed that the negative effects of caffeine increase with puberty in both males and females, discussing the issue with parents and children from an early age could not only have a long term beneficial effect in diminishing both the negative effects of caffeine but, by avoiding the sugary drinks that have the added caffeine in them, would also be a small step in diminishing the rising obesity problem in children.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts