Energy-drink consumption and its relationship with substance use and sensation seeking among 10th grade students in Istanbul

• Our aim was to determine the prevalence and correlates of energy-drink (ED) consumption among adolescents.
• Rate ED consumption at least once in a month was high (31.1%), whereas once within last year was even higher (62.0%).
• ED consumption is associated with male gender, lifetime substance use, psychological problems and self-destructive behavior.
• ED consumption is related with three clusters of substances (tobacco, alcohol and drug) through sensation seeking.
• These relationships with ED and substance clusters do not interact with each other.

Aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and correlates of energy-drink (ED) consumption among 10th grade students in Istanbul/Turkey. Cross-sectional online self-report survey conducted in 45 schools from the 15 districts in Istanbul. The questionnaire included sections about demographic data, self-destructive behavior and use of substances including tobacco, alcohol and drugs. Also Psychological Screening Test for Adolescents (PSTA) was used. The analyses were conducted based on the 4957 subjects. Rate of those reported a ED consumption once within last year was 62.0% (n = 3072), whereas rate of those reported ED consumption at least once in a month was 31.1%. There were consistent, statistically significant associations between genders, lifetime substance use (tobacco, alcohol and drug use), measures of sensation seeking, psychological problems (depression, anxiety, anger, impulsivity) and self-destructive behavior (self-harming behavior and suicidal thoughts) with ED consumption. In logistic regression models male gender, sensation seeking, life-time tobacco, alcohol and drug use predicted all frequencies of ED consumption. In addition to these predictors, anger and self-harming behavior also predicted ED consumption at least once in a month. There were no interactions between the associations of lifetime tobacco, alcohol and drug use with ED consumption. The findings suggest that the ED consumption of male students is related with three clusters of substances (tobacco, alcohol and drug) through sensation seeking and these relationships do not interact with each other.