No sex differences in the acute effects of caffeine on mental calculation and pulse rate in healthy college students

Abstract

Summary: Background and Aim: It is unclear whether there is a sex difference in the effect of caffeine on an objective indicator such as mental calculation. Although it has been reported that the heart rate-lowering effect of caffeine is greater in males than in females, another study showed that there was no gender difference. The aim of this study was to examine whether there are sex differences in the acute effects of caffeine. Methods: We analyzed data (males: 280, females: 135) from the Practice of Pharmacology conducted on medical students. The participants performed mental calculations and measured their pulse rate before and after drinking decaffeinated or caffeinated coffee in a double-blinded manner. Results: In total participants, the increase in the number of calculations after drinking coffee was larger in the caffeinated group than in the decaffeinated group. However, the increases in the numbers of calculations after drinking caffeinated coffee were similar in males and females. The reduction in pulse rate after drinking coffee was larger in the caffeinated coffee group than in the decaffeinated group in total participants. There was no sex difference in the degree of reduction in pulse rate. Conclusion: There are no sex differences in the acute effects of caffeine on calculation efficiency and pulse rate in young medical students.

Keywords

• Caffeine
• Calculation
• Pulse rate
• Sex difference