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Methodological considerations for the quantification of self-reported caffeine use

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Abstract

Rationale

The field of research regarding the effects of habitual caffeine use is immense and frequently utilizes self-report measures of caffeine use. However, various self-report measures have different methodologies, and the accuracy of these different methods has not been compared.

Materials and methods

Self-reported caffeine use was estimated from two methods (a retrospective interview of weekly caffeine use and a 7-day prospective diary; n = 79). These estimates were then tested against salivary caffeine concentrations in a subset of participants (n = 55).

Results

The estimates of caffeine use (mg/day) from the interview- and diary-based methods correlated with one another (r = 0.77) and with salivary caffeine concentrations (r = 0.61 and 0.68, respectively). However, almost half of the subjects who reported more than 600 mg/day in the interview reported significantly less caffeine use in the diary.

Conclusions

Self-report measures of caffeine use are a valid method of predicting actual caffeine levels. Estimates of high caffeine use levels may need to be corroborated by more than one method.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the General Clinical Research Center and Debra Hege for their assistance with the collection of data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA

    Merideth A. Addicott, Lucie L. Yang, Ann M. Peiffer & Paul J. Laurienti

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  1. Merideth A. Addicott
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  2. Lucie L. Yang
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  3. Ann M. Peiffer
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  4. Paul J. Laurienti
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul J. Laurienti.

Additional information

Supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01 EB03880, NS42568, RR07122, and F31DA024950).

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Addicott, M.A., Yang, L.L., Peiffer, A.M. et al. Methodological considerations for the quantification of self-reported caffeine use. Psychopharmacology 203, 571–578 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-008-1403-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-008-1403-5

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