Abstract
Rationale
Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in the world. Caffeine administered acutely in a laboratory environment or as a medication adjuvant has known properties that help alleviate pain. However, much less is known about the potential impact of habitual dietary caffeine consumption on the experience of pain.
Objectives
The primary objective of this observational study was to determine whether caffeine consumed habitually as part of a daily diet was associated with experimental pain sensitivity using noxious stimuli in a non-clinical sample of 62 community-dwelling adults between 19 and 77 years old.
Methods
Study participants monitored their daily dietary caffeine consumption (e.g., coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, and chocolate) across a period of seven consecutive days using a caffeine consumption diary. On the seventh day of caffeine consumption monitoring, participants presented to the laboratory to complete experimental pain sensitivity testing. Noxious thermal and mechanical stimuli were used to obtain threshold and tolerance for painful heat and pressure, respectively.
Results
Data analysis revealed that greater self-reported daily caffeine consumption was significantly associated with higher heat pain threshold (β = .296, p = .038), higher heat pain tolerance (β = .242, p = .046), and higher pressure pain threshold (β = .277, p = .049) in multiple regression models adjusted for covariates.
Conclusions
Results of this study completed with community-dwelling adults revealed that individuals who habitually consume greater amounts of caffeine as part of their daily diets demonstrate diminished sensitivity to painful stimuli in a laboratory setting.
References
Addicott MA, Yang LL, Peiffer AM, Laurienti PJ (2009) Methodological considerations for the quantification of self-reported caffeine use. Psychopharmacology 203(3):571–578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-008-1403-5
Ancoli-Israel S, Cole R, Alessi C, Chambers M, Moorcroft W, Pollak CP (2003) The role of actigraphy in the study of sleep and circadian rhythms. Sleep 26(3):342–392
Baratloo, A., Rouhipour, A., Forouzanfar, M. M., Safari, S., Amiri, M., & Negida, A. (2016). The role of caffeine in pain management: a brief literature review. Anesth Pain Med, 6(3), e33193. doi:https://doi.org/10.5812/aapm.33193
Barone JJ, Roberts HR (1996) Caffeine consumption. Food Chem Toxicol 34(1):119–129
Blackwell T, Redline S, Ancoli-Israel S, Schneider JL, Surovec S, Johnson NL, Study of osteoporotic fractures research, G (2008) Comparison of sleep parameters from actigraphy and polysomnography in older women: the SOF study. Sleep 31(2):283–291
Bulls HW, Freeman EL, Anderson AJ, Robbins MT, Ness TJ, Goodin BR (2015) Sex differences in experimental measures of pain sensitivity and endogenous pain inhibition. J Pain Res 8:311–320. https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S84607
Bunker ML, McWilliams M (1979) Caffeine content of common beverages. J Am Diet Assoc 74(1):28–32
Campana, C., Griffin, P. L., & Simon, E. L. (2014). Caffeine overdose resulting in severe rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure. Am J Emerg Med, 32(1), 111 e113–114. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2013.08.042, 111.e4
Cappelletti S, Piacentino D, Sani G, Aromatario M (2015) Caffeine: cognitive and physical performance enhancer or psychoactive drug? Curr Neuropharmacol 13(1):71–88. https://doi.org/10.2174/1570159X13666141210215655
Derry CJ, Derry S, Moore RA (2012) Caffeine as an analgesic adjuvant for acute pain in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 3:CD009281. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD009281.pub2
Derry CJ, Derry S, Moore RA (2014) Caffeine as an analgesic adjuvant for acute pain in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 12:CD009281. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD009281.pub3
Finan PH, Goodin BR, Smith MT (2013) The association of sleep and pain: an update and a path forward. J Pain 14(12):1539–1552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2013.08.007
Frary CD, Johnson RK, Wang MQ (2005) Food sources and intakes of caffeine in the diets of persons in the United States. J Am Diet Assoc 105(1):110–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2004.10.027
Fulgoni VL 3rd, Keast DR, Lieberman HR (2015) Trends in intake and sources of caffeine in the diets of US adults: 2001-2010. Am J Clin Nutr 101(5):1081–1087. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.113.080077
Glover TL, Goodin BR, Horgas AL, Kindler LL, King CD, Sibille KT, Fillingim RB (2012) Vitamin D, race, and experimental pain sensitivity in older adults with knee osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheum 64(12):3926–3935. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.37687
Goodin BR, McGuire L, Allshouse M, Stapleton L, Haythornthwaite JA, Burns N, Edwards RR (2009) Associations between catastrophizing and endogenous pain-inhibitory processes: sex differences. J Pain 10(2):180–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2008.08.012
Goodin BR, Smith MT, Quinn NB, King CD, McGuire L (2012) Poor sleep quality and exaggerated salivary cortisol reactivity to the cold pressor task predict greater acute pain severity in a non-clinical sample. Biol Psychol 91(1):36–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.02.020
Goodin BR, Owens MA, Yessick LR, Rainey RL, Okunbor JI, White DM, Merlin JS (2017) Detectable viral load may be associated with increased pain sensitivity in persons living with HIV: preliminary findings. Pain Med 18(12):2289–2295. https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnx057
Grosso G, Godos J, Galvano F, Giovannucci EL (2017) Coffee, caffeine, and health outcomes: an umbrella review. Annu Rev Nutr 37:131–156. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nutr-071816-064941
Heckman MA, Weil J, Gonzalez de Mejia E (2010) Caffeine (1, 3, 7-trimethylxanthine) in foods: a comprehensive review on consumption, functionality, safety, and regulatory matters. J Food Sci 75(3):R77–R87. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-3841.2010.01561.x
Heinz AJ, de Wit H, Lilje TC, Kassel JD (2013) The combined effects of alcohol, caffeine, and expectancies on subjective experience, impulsivity, and risk-taking. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 21(3):222–234. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032337
Higdon JV, Frei B (2006) Coffee and health: a review of recent human research. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 46(2):101–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408390500400009
Karunathilake NP, Frye RF, Stavropoulos MF, Herman MA, Hastie BA (2012) A preliminary study on the effects of self-reported dietary caffeine on pain experience and postoperative analgesia. J Caffeine Res 2(4):159–166. https://doi.org/10.1089/jcr.2012.0016
Keogh E, Witt G (2001) Hypoalgesic effect of caffeine in normotensive men and women. Psychophysiology 38(6):886–895
Kim, H. J., Yang, G. S., Greenspan, J. D., Downton, K. D., Griffith, K. A., Renn, C. L., . . . Dorsey, S. G. (2017). Racial and ethnic differences in experimental pain sensitivity: systematic review and meta-analysis. Pain, 158(2), 194–211. doi:https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000731
Kushida CA, Chang A, Gadkary C, Guilleminault C, Carrillo O, Dement WC (2001) Comparison of actigraphic, polysomnographic, and subjective assessment of sleep parameters in sleep-disordered patients. Sleep Med 2(5):389–396
Larroque B, Kaminski M, Lelong N, Subtil D, Dehaene P (1993) Effects of birth weight of alcohol and caffeine consumption during pregnancy. Am J Epidemiol 137(9):941–950
Leathwood PD, Pollet P (1982) Diet-induced mood changes in normal populations. J Psychiatr Res 17(2):147–154
Mackus M, van de Loo A, Benson S, Scholey A, Verster JC (2016) Consumption of caffeinated beverages and the awareness of their caffeine content among Dutch students. Appetite 103:353–357. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.04.038
Malinauskas BM, Aeby VG, Overton RF, Carpenter-Aeby T, Barber-Heidal K (2007) A survey of energy drink consumption patterns among college students. Nutr J 6:35. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-6-35
McCusker, R. R., Goldberger, B. A., & Cone, E. J. (2003). Caffeine content of specialty coffees. J Anal Toxicol, 27(7), 520–522. doi:NO_DOI
McLellan TM, Caldwell JA, Lieberman HR (2016) A review of caffeine’s effects on cognitive, physical and occupational performance. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 71:294–312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.09.001
Meredith SE, Juliano LM, Hughes JR, Griffiths RR (2013) Caffeine use disorder: a comprehensive review and research agenda. J Caffeine Res 3(3):114–130. https://doi.org/10.1089/jcr.2013.0016
Mitchell DC, Knight CA, Hockenberry J, Teplansky R, Hartman TJ (2014) Beverage caffeine intakes in the U.S. Food Chem Toxicol 63:136–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2013.10.042
Morelli M, Simola N (2011) Methylxanthines and drug dependence: a focus on interactions with substances of abuse. Handb Exp Pharmacol 200:483–507. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13443-2_20
Nastase A, Ioan S, Braga RI, Zagrean L, Moldovan M (2007) Coffee drinking enhances the analgesic effect of cigarette smoking. Neuroreport 18(9):921–924. https://doi.org/10.1097/WNR.0b013e32811d6d0d
Nehlig A (2016) Effects of coffee/caffeine on brain health and disease: what should I tell my patients? Pract Neurol 16(2):89–95. https://doi.org/10.1136/practneurol-2015-001162
O’Donoghue GM, Fox N, Heneghan C, Hurley DA (2009) Objective and subjective assessment of sleep in chronic low back pain patients compared with healthy age and gender matched controls: a pilot study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 10:122. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2474-10-122
Quartana PJ, Campbell CM, Edwards RR (2009) Pain catastrophizing: a critical review. Expert Rev Neurother 9(5):745–758. https://doi.org/10.1586/ern.09.34
Ribeiro JA, Sebastiao AM (2010) Caffeine and adenosine. J Alzheimers Dis 20(Suppl 1):S3–S15. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-2010-1379
Rivera-Oliver M, Diaz-Rios M (2014) Using caffeine and other adenosine receptor antagonists and agonists as therapeutic tools against neurodegenerative diseases: a review. Life Sci 101(1–2):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2014.01.083
Sadeh A (2011) The role and validity of actigraphy in sleep medicine: an update. Sleep Med Rev 15(4):259–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2010.10.001
Sawynok J (2011a) Caffeine and pain. Pain 152(4):726–729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2010.10.011
Sawynok J (2011b) Methylxanthines and pain. Handb Exp Pharmacol 200:311–329. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13443-2_11
Sawynok J (2016) Adenosine receptor targets for pain. Neuroscience 338:1–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.10.031
Scott W, Wideman TH, Sullivan MJ (2014) Clinically meaningful scores on pain catastrophizing before and after multidisciplinary rehabilitation: a prospective study of individuals with subacute pain after whiplash injury. Clin J Pain 30(3):183–190. https://doi.org/10.1097/AJP.0b013e31828eee6c
Shohet KL, Landrum RE (2001) Caffeine consumption questionnaire: a standardized measure for caffeine consumption in undergraduate students. Psychol Rep 89(3):521–526. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.2001.89.3.521
Sullivan MJ, Bishop SR, Pivik J (1995) The pain catastrophizing scale: development and validation. Psychol Assess 7(4):524–532
Temple JL, Bernard C, Lipshultz SE, Czachor JD, Westphal JA, Mestre MA (2017) The safety of ingested caffeine: a comprehensive review. Front Psychiatry 8:80. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00080
Wikoff D, Welsh BT, Henderson R, Brorby GP, Britt J, Myers E, Doepker C (2017) Systematic review of the potential adverse effects of caffeine consumption in healthy adults, pregnant women, adolescents, and children. Food Chem Toxicol 109(Pt 1):585–648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2017.04.002
Zale EL, Maisto SA, Ditre JW (2015) Interrelations between pain and alcohol: an integrative review. Clin Psychol Rev 37:57–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2015.02.005
Funding
Financial support for this research was provided by the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health Services Research Training Program, T32HS013852 (D.S.O.), NIH/NIA Health Disparities Research Pilot Award through the Deep South Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR), P30AG031054, and NIH/NIMHD Grant R01MD010441 (B.R.G.).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
This study was approved by the local Institutional Review Board and carried out in accordance with guidelines for the ethical conduct of research.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Overstreet, D.S., Penn, T.M., Cable, S.T. et al. Higher habitual dietary caffeine consumption is related to lower experimental pain sensitivity in a community-based sample. Psychopharmacology 235, 3167–3176 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-018-5016-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-018-5016-3