Impact of Acute Energy Drink Consumption on Heart Rate Variability in Children and Adolescents. A Randomized Trial
Abstract
The EDUCATE study investigated the acute impact of energy drink (ED) consumption on heart rate variability (HRV) in children and adolescents, with a focus on how these stimulant-rich beverages influence cardiac autonomic function. Given the popularity of EDs among young people, this study assessed the immediate cardiovascular response to ED intake. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial involved 26 healthy participants aged 10-18 years. Each participant consumed a weight-adjusted ED or placebo in two separate test sessions. HRV was monitored via a 24-h Holter ECG, with analysis centered on time-domain measures, such as the standard deviation of normal RR intervals (SDNN) and root-mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), along with frequency-domain metrics. Statistical analysis included a two-way repeated-measures ANOVA to examine the effects of "beverage" and "time." The study revealed a significant increase in the SDNN in the ED group within the first hour post-consumption, with a mean difference of 17.692 ms compared with that in the placebo group (SDNN: ED = 133.346 ± 50.217 ms vs. placebo = 115.654 ± 47.583 ms, p = 0.023). However, no significant differences in the SDNN were observed in the subsequent time intervals (60-240 min). In addition, frequency-domain parameters, such as total power, RMSSD, LF, HF, and the LF/HF ratio, showed no significant changes across the four-hour observation period, indicating that sympathetic activation was…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 26 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- The Matrisome: In Silico Definition and In Vivo Characterization by Proteomics of Normal and Tumor Extracellular Matrices
- The Escherichia coli MG1655 in silico metabolic genotype: Its definition, characteristics, and capabilities
- In silico pharmacology for drug discovery: methods for virtual ligand screening and profiling
- In silico prediction of splice-altering single nucleotide variants in the human genome
- In silico clinical trials: how computer simulation will transform the biomedical industry
- In silico optimization of a guava antimicrobial peptide enables combinatorial exploration for peptide design
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.