Effects of moderate caffeine intake in athletes

Caffeine intake increases the risk of premature atrial contractions (PACs) and premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) because of its sympathomimetic effects via dopamine and norepinephrine [ 1 Elbadawi A. Sedhom R. Gad M. Hamed M. Elwagdy A. Barakat A.F. et al. Screening for atrial fibrillation in the elderly: a network meta-analysis of randomized trials. Eur J Intern Med. 2022; 105: 38-45 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (3) Google Scholar , 2 DeBacker G. Jacobs D. Prineas R. Crow R. Vilandre J. Kennedy H. et al. Ventricular premature contractions: a randomized non-drug intervention trial in normal men. Circulation. 1979; 59: 762-769 Crossref PubMed Google Scholar , 3 Robertson D. Frolich J.C. Carr R.K. Watson J.T. Hollifield J.W. Shand D.G. et al. Effects of caffeine on plasma renin activity, catecholamines and blood pressure. N Engl J Med. 1978; 298: 181-186 Crossref PubMed Google Scholar ]. The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines stated that caffeine can drive the onset of supraventricular arrhythmias and should be avoided in patients with history of extra beats [ [4] Blomstrom-Lundqvist C. Scheinman M.M. Aliot E.M. Alpert J.S. Calkins H. Camm A.J. et al. ACC/AHA/ESC guidelines for the management of patients with supraventricular arrhythmias–executive summary: a report of the American college of cardiology/American heart association task force on practice guidelines and the European society of cardiology committee for practice guidelines (writing committee to develop guidelines for the management of patients with supraventricular arrhythmias). Circulation. 2003; 108: 1871-1909 Crossref PubMed Scopus (0) Google Scholar ]. Previous investigations showed that chronic coffee consumption reduced the risk of atrial fibrillation and led no association with ectopy in older adults [ [5] Casiglia E. Tikhonoff V. Albertini F. Gasparotti F. Mazza A. Montagnana M. et al. Caffeine intake reduces incident atrial fibrillation at a population level. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2018; 25: 1055-1062 Crossref PubMed Scopus (23) Google Scholar , [6] Dixit S. Stein P.K. Dewland T.A. Dukes J.W. Vittinghoff E. Heckbert S.R. et al. Consumption of caffeinated products and cardiac ectopy. J Am Heart Assoc. 2016; 5 Crossref Scopus (35) Google Scholar ]. We tested the effects of moderate coffee consumption in this population in order to confirm these results in young athletes. This is an observational study of consecutive athletes undergoing clinical evaluation in the Exercise and Sports Medicine Unit “Antonio Cardarelli Hospital”, Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy. We applied the following inclusion criteria: a) age ≥16 years b) taking no macronutrients and/or dietary supplements and c) willingness to participate in this study. We collected anamnestic data on cardiovascular risk factors, arrythmias, hypertension, asthma and medical treatment. We registered sport discipline for all athletes, with the classification based on the type of exercise and level of intensity. We did not include subjects which referred “cappuccino” and or tea in the analysis. We evaluated body Mass Index (BMI), resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP) (DBP), and baseline heart rate.