Boys and Girls Are Impacted By Caffeine Differently

[slimvictor]

(N.b. Second article, from Boston.com, in reply below, is better)

Boys and girls’ bodies react differently to caffeine after they hit puberty, new research shows.

It’s established that caffeine consumption can increase blood pressure and lower heart rate in adults, and researchers from University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, have shown in the past that the same side effects happen in kids. This new research, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that the different ways caffeine affects males and females starts at puberty, with boys’ hearts more affected than girls’.

The researchers are unsure why exactly there are reaction differences—it could be due to hormones or other physiological factors—but it’s concerning since doses were low, at 1 and 2 mg/kg, and since caffeinated energy drinks are popular among kids and teens.

http://time.com/2878504/boys-and-girls-are-impacted-by-caffeine-differently/

 

[slimvictor]

Girls and Boys React Differently to Caffeine Starting at Puberty

Caffeine isn’t healthy, but that’s no news. The withdrawal headaches, jitteriness and dehydration kind of gave that one way. What is news, however, is that starting at puberty, it’s worse for boys than girls.

Girls and boys have the same cardiovascular reactions to caffeine in childhood, but begin to react differently in adolescence, finds a new study conducted by researchers from The University of Buffalo.

In the double-blind study published in the June issue of Pediatrics, researchers examined the cardiovascular reactions of 52 pre-pubescent (ages eight to nine) and 49 post-pubescent (ages 15 to 17) children to varying levels of caffeine. Participants consumed either the placebo, 1 mg/kg or 2 mg/kg caffeinated sodas, and then had their heart rates and blood pressures taken. The results found that pre-pubescent children had the same reaction to caffeine regardless of gender, while post-pubescent boys had much stronger cardiovascular reactions to caffeine than girls.

The study also examined post-pubescent girls’ reactions to caffeine at various phases of their menstrual cycles. At different stages of the cycle, the girls metabolized caffeine differently.

“We found differences in responses to caffeine across the menstrual cycle in post-pubertal girls, with decreases in heart rate that were greater in the mid-luteal phase and blood pressure increases that were greater in the mid-follicular phase of the menstrual cycle,” Dr. Jennifer Temple, one of the researchers who conducted the study said in a University at Buffalo press release announcing the study.

cont at
http://www.boston.com/health/2014/0...5UU3AFennzmN7xM/story.html?rss_id=Top+Stories

 

[herbavore]

Back in the dark ages when I grew up girls drank a cup of coffee with two aspirin to alleviate menstrual pain. I think that is still the basic ingredients for OTC treatments.

 

[ro4eva]

"We got beans from Yemen. That's right - YEMEN!"

Amusing how coffee used to be as stigmatized as today's "drugs of abuse".

Never understood the abuse in "drug abuse" - as if the drug has feelings that I'm seriously affecting by consuming it?

"Drug misuse" seems more appropriate, as well as "habit forming drugs" instead of "addictive drugs."

These bureaucrats can certainly polish shit when they want something. I wonder if they'd wipe my ass for me too?