Caffeine Habits among Medical Students in King Saud University

Background caffeinated beverages have been one of the most consumed drinks. Since it is a psychoactive substance, medical students used to consume it more than other students to overcome the stress they face due to studying. Objectives estimation of the daily amount of caffeine consumption among medical students in college of medicine at KSU in Riyadh in 2012 and comparison the amount of caffeine consumption among medical students based on the source of caffeine. Method A cross-sectional study design using a 26 questions self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 550 medical students (275 male and 275 female) at college of medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Results (97.5 %) of medical students are consuming caffeine while only (2.5 %) of them havent used it. Low intake caffeine users represent the majority by (49.3 %). However, moderate and high caffeine intake users are (28 %) and (22.7 %) respectively. Caffeine was the most common used beverage among both male and female students. Conclusion we found a very high percentage of caffeine consumers among medical students. However, their use is still in the safe side. In other hand, high intake users which represent the smallest percentage should try to minimize the daily caffeine use.