Exploring Collegiate Athlete Use Of Caffeine, Supplements, And Current Mental Health On Disordered Eating

Prevalence of supplement use in the athletic population has risen upwards of 88% in recent years, however, scant research has examined potential associations among caffeine use, supplement use, and mental health outcomes on disordered eating in college athletes. PURPOSE: The study examined caffeine use, supplement use, and indicators of mental health on self-reported disordered eating behaviors in collegiate athletes. METHODS: A sample of 231 NCAA athletes from a northeast state completed a series of questionnaires, including the Caffeine Expectancy Questionnaire (CaffEQ), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26). A linear regression of correlated variables related to disordered eating was based on preliminary bivariate Pearson r correlations. RESULTS: Pearson r correlations found that the PHQ-9 (r = 0.326, p < 0.001), the CaffEQ appetite suppression subscale (r = 0.282, p < 0.001), the PSQI (r = 0.266, p < 0.001), GAD-7 (r = 0.254, p < 0.001), and minutes of resistance training outside of sport (r = 0.198, p = 0.005), were positively related to EAT-26 total scores. The resultant linear regression model, F (5, 169) = 9.916, p < 0.001, found that CaffEQ appetite suppression subscale scores, t (173) = 3.667, p < 0.001, 95%CI [0.934-3.113], PSQI, t (173) = 2.504, p = 0.013, 95%CI [0.104-0.876], and minutes of resistance training outside of sport, t (173) = 3.385, p < 0.001, 95%CI [0.023-0.086], were significant contributors to the full model, explaining 20.4% of the shared variance in EAT-26 scores. CONCLUSION: Caffeine use for appetite suppression, mental health, and non-sport related exercise in the student-athlete population are significantly associated with indicators of disordered eating. These findings suggest that examining reasons for caffeine use, exercise engagement, and indicators of mental health and their associations with disordered eating behaviors may be warranted. Supported by: The Rhode Island Foundation Clean Competition Grant