Wierzejska Regina
Instytut Zywności i Zywienia, Warszawa.
Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2012;63(2):141-7.
Caffeine is widely consumed by people of all ages. In the last period a market of caffeine-containing products, particularly energy drinks and food supplements increased. Caffeine for years is under discussion, whether has positive whether adverse impact on health. Children are a group of special anxieties. Caffeine is a stimulant of central nervous system and therefore is probably the most commonly used psychoactive substance in the world. The physiological effect of caffeine and the lack of nutrition value causes a great interest its impact on health, especially with reference to the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Results of scientific research are not clear. The influence of caffeine on the human body is conditioned with the individual metabolism of caffeine which also depends on many endogenic and environmental factors. According to the current knowledge moderate caffeine intake by healthy adults at a dose level of 400 mg a day is not associated with adverse effects, but it also depends on other health determinants of a lifestyle. Excessive caffeine consumption can cause negative health consequences such as psychomotor agitation, insomnia, headache, gastrointestinal complaints. Adverse effect of caffeine intoxication is classified in World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Metabolism of caffeine by pregnant woman is slowed down. Caffeine and its metabolites pass freely across the placenta into a fetus. For this reason pregnant women should limit caffeine intake. Children and adolescents should also limit daily caffeine consumption. It results from the influence of caffeine on the central nervous system in the period of rapid growth and the final stage of brain development, calcium balance and sleep duration. Average daily caffeine consumption in European countries ranging from 280-490 mg. The highest caffeine intake is in Scandinavian countries what results from the great consumption of the coffee. As far as caffeine consumption by Polish population is concerned there is very few data in this subject so far. In the nineties of the previous century it was 141 mg per day, whereas according to recent survey daily caffeine intake by women from the Warsaw region was 251 mg and 15% of examined women consumed an excessive quantity of caffeine (> or = 400 mg). Smokers consume more caffeine than nonsmokers, similarly to persons with mental illnesses. With reference to the caffeine consumption it should be underline that caffeine content in coffee and tea beverages varies greatly depending on the method of brewing whereas the content of caffeine in many brands of energy drinks can much vary. This should be taken into account in the daily caffeine intake.
各年龄段的人都广泛摄入咖啡因。在过去一段时间里，含咖啡因产品的市场，尤其是能量饮料和食品补充剂市场有所增长。多年来，咖啡因对健康是有积极影响还是有不利影响一直存在争议。儿童是一个特别令人担忧的群体。咖啡因是中枢神经系统的兴奋剂，因此可能是世界上最常用的精神活性物质。咖啡因的生理作用以及缺乏营养价值引发了人们对其对健康影响的极大兴趣，尤其是涉及心血管疾病风险方面。科学研究结果并不明确。咖啡因对人体的影响取决于咖啡因的个体代谢情况，而这又取决于许多内在和环境因素。根据目前的知识，健康成年人每天摄入400毫克的中等剂量咖啡因与不良影响无关，但这也取决于生活方式的其他健康决定因素。过量摄入咖啡因会导致负面健康后果，如精神运动性兴奋、失眠、头痛、胃肠道不适。咖啡因中毒的不良影响被列入世界卫生组织的《国际疾病分类》（ICD - 10）。孕妇体内咖啡因的代谢会减缓。咖啡因及其代谢产物可自由穿过胎盘进入胎儿体内。因此，孕妇应限制咖啡因的摄入量。儿童和青少年也应限制每日咖啡因的摄入量。这是由于咖啡因在快速生长和大脑发育的最后阶段对中枢神经系统、钙平衡和睡眠时间有影响。欧洲国家的人均每日咖啡因摄入量在280 - 490毫克之间。斯堪的纳维亚国家的咖啡因摄入量最高，这是由于咖啡消费量很大。就波兰人口的咖啡因摄入量而言，目前关于这方面的数据非常少。在上个世纪九十年代，人均每日摄入量为141毫克，而根据最近的一项调查，华沙地区女性的每日咖啡因摄入量为251毫克，15%的受调查女性摄入了过量的咖啡因（≥400毫克）。吸烟者比不吸烟者摄入更多的咖啡因，患有精神疾病的人也是如此。关于咖啡因的摄入量，应该强调的是，咖啡和茶饮料中的咖啡因含量会因冲泡方法的不同而有很大差异，而许多品牌能量饮料中的咖啡因含量也可能有很大变化。在计算每日咖啡因摄入量时应考虑到这一点。
