Caffeine intake from all sources in adolescents and young adults in Austria

Background/Objectives: Assessment of caffeine intake as part of the risk assessment of caffeine in adolescents and young adults aged 14-39 years from foods, beverages and drugs, and to identify the main contributors to caffeine intake. Subjects/Methods: Assessment of caffeine intake by a validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire including all caffeine-containing foods and beverages based on laboratory analysis of caffeine content and caffeine-containing drugs in a cross-sectional study design in a sample of 700 subjects (353 men and 347 women) designed to be representative for the Austrian population in respect to an age of 14-39 years and sex. Results: The caffeine intake of the total sample on average was 357 ± 400 mg per day (5.3 ± 6.0 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day) with a median intake of 259 mg per day (3.7 mg/kg bw per day) and intakes at the 95th percentile of 957 mg per day (14.5 mg/kg bw per day). Major contributors to caffeine intake were coffee (60.8%), energy drinks (11.9%) and colas (9.5%). Caffeine intake based on kilogram bw was significantly higher for subjects aged 26-39 years compared with subjects aged 14-17 years and 18-25 years (P = 0.012). Conclusions: The highest potential for the reduction in caffeine intake is by reducing coffee consumption; the elimination of any other caffeine source would not result in substantial decreases in caffeine intake.