Caffeine Use and Young Adult Women

A study of 491 randomly selected college women and men surveyed on two separate occasions and enrolled in required courses at a large Midwestern university showed that caffeine, a pharmacologically active psychotropic drug, was consumed by a large proportion of the respondents in a twenty-four hour period (86%). Women consumed a larger amount of caffeine and used more substances containing this drug. An increase in caffeine usage with increased psychic stress was observed for women only. About 15 per cent of the women sampled (N = 337) had ingested 500 mg or more during the survey period of highest stress. The data suggest that future investigations of the linkage of poor pregnancy outcomes with caffeine consumption must obtain an accurate appraisal of the total amount of caffeine ingested. This can be accomplished only if O-T-C drugs containing caffeine and such beverages as colas, teas and cocoa, as well as coffee, are taken into account.