Caffeine Daily Intake in a Population of Adults in Argentina

• Autores: Carnevali, Susana; Degossi, Maria Claudia
• Año de publicación: 2019
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: ARTICULO; ADULTOS; CAFEINA
• Institución: Fundación H. A. Barceló

Fil: Carnevali, Susana. Instituto Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud. Fundación Barceló; Argentina.
Fil: Degrossi, Maria Claudia. Instituto Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud. Fundación Barceló; Argentina.
Caffeine is a methylxanthine (1,3,7–trimethyl-3,7-dihydro-1H-purine-2, 6-dione) which is found in several widely consumed food sources. Although moderate consumption has been shown not to imply health risks, excess intake may lead to adverse effects, including gastrointestinal disturbances, anxiety, irritability, palpitations and insomnia. The aim of this study was to determine the caffeine content in 5 beverages available in the Argentine market and with these data and others from bibliographic sources determine the daily intake of caffeine through dietary sources, in an adult population, ages 18 to 80, in Argentina, in the period August 2015 to April 2016. The participants filled up a questionnaire of indirect management through the Web. The caffeine determination was performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Higher caffeine contents were found in espresso coffee (1.3 mg/mL) and mate cebado (0.95 mg/mL). 2690 participants who met the inclusion criterion had an average caffeine intake of 345.8 mg / day. The major contributors to total caffeine intake were mate cebado (52.5%) and coffee (30.2%), followed by cola beverages (7.6%) and tea (5%). The contribution of other drinks was very low. 31.7% of the participants exceed the recommended daily intake (400 mg/day) for healthy adults, with an average intake of 642.0 mg/day. 37.7% and 26.6% of women in childbearing age, between 18 to 40 years old, exceed the recommended caffeine daily intake of 200 mg and 300 mg respectively. At the 90th percentile, these groups consumed 775.2 mg/day and 850.9 mg/day of caffeine. Mate cebado and coffee, two very popular beverages in Argentina were the highest contributors to the caffeine daily intake. They might be the reasons for the elevated average daily intakes observed, especially in risk groups. The results obtained contribute with new data for caffeine intake from different dietary sources, in order to characterize the risk derived from its consumption.