ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03315442Updated Nov 17, 2017

Increased Static Postural Sway After Energy Drink Consumption

An interventional study of Caffeine versus Energy Drink in Disorder, sponsored by Texas Woman's University. Completed at 1 site in Puerto Rico. Open to participants aged 21 Years to 40 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2017-11-17.

Primary conditionnone(registry's first term: Disease)No conditionIs this wrong?Disease describes something many studies share rather than a condition a study is about. The study names no condition we can place it under, so it is not compared with other studies by condition.

Sponsored by Texas Woman's University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Screening

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 10 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Oct 2016, registered Sep 2017).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
20
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
21 Years to 40 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Background \& Purpose: Energy drinks consumption continues to grow since its appearance in the United States in 1997. Available evidence indicates that caffeine, their main ingredient, can alter the central nervous system (CNS). However, it is unknown how energy drinks adjust the CNS postural control mechanism. The purpose of this study was to investigate how energy drinks can affect postural control after sensory perturbations during stance.

Methods: 20 healthy adults, (11 males; 9 females) averaging 26.1 years of age, stood on a pressure mat, which measured center of pressure (CoP), anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) postural sways during eight different balance tests (BALT's). BALT's were designed to alter or cancel the systems involved in postural control: visual, vestibular and somatosensory. Subjects were randomly assigned to a caffeine group and an energy drink group. MANOVA analysis was performed for all variables of interest.

Read the detailed description

Methods General Protocol

After signing the informed consent and reviewing the inclusion and exclusion criteria, participants were subjected to a preliminary screening of participation using a list of questions and the American college sports medicine Health / Fitness Facility Questionnaire. This questionnaire's purpose is to ensure the safety of the participants to engage in physical activity by assessing the subjects and family history of cardiovascular diseases. Afterwards, the Investigators assessed subjects' vital signs, blood pressure, pulse, and spO2, to ensure subjects were able to participate in physical activity safely ingest a moderate intake of caffeine without complications. Since postural control is negatively correlated with increased adiposity, weight and height data were measured to obtain a classification according to the Body Mass Index. A range of 18.5 to 29.9 was required to participate. During the physical examinations the subjects also performed a Romberg test to rule out any obvious impairment in static balance, a modified Sit and Reach Test for the evaluation of functional flexibility, Sit to Stand Test (30 Seconds) for the assessment of lower limb functional strength, and a Step Test to evaluate the response of the cardiovascular system to a submaximal cardio test. After the physical examination, the participants had a rest period between 10-20 minutes before starting the balance tests protocol of (BALT's).

Procedure

Each participant from both groups performed eight balance tests (BALT's) which alter or cancel, individually or combined, sensory input from the sensory systems involved in postural control. The order of the tests was changed systematically between subjects; therefore, they did not perform the tests in the same order to eliminate external factors such as fatigue or accommodation to the BALT's, which could alter the results. The BALT's were conducted on the (TekScan, Boston, MA) a pressure platform containing sensors that measure a displacement of the center of pressure in centimeters squared (cm2) (CoP), anteroposterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) sway in centimeters (cm). The data collected from the pressure mat was analyzed with Sway Analysis Module (SAM) software designed for this purpose. The subjects stood for 30 seconds on the pressure platform during each test.

The first 4 BALT's were carried out by placing the pressure platform on the floor, a stable surface. These tests were: 1) Open Eyes (EO) with a fixed point to evaluate all the systems involved in the postural control (visual, vestibular, somatosensory); 2) Eyes Closed (EC) to evaluate the vestibular and somatosensory system, while eliminating the visual sensory input; 3) Eyes Open while actively moving the head up and down (HUD) to evaluate the visual and somatosensory system, while altering the vestibular system with head movements (EO HUD) (For HUD movements a metronome 2/4 60 BPM was used to maintain a fixed frequency of about one spin per second in motion); 4) Eyes closed and actively moving the head up and down (EC HUD) to assess the effect of removing the visual input, in combination of an alteration of the vestibular system with the head up and down movements.

The remaining 4 BALT's were the same as the four previously mentioned tests with the difference that the subject stood on an unstable surface (foam mat) that was placed on top of the pressure platform to alter the somatosensory (proprioceptive) system.

After the initial eight pre BALT's, to the experimental group, 160 mg of caffeine was given through one energy drink (16 ounces). Monster energy drink was chosen because, unlike other energy drink brands, the label of Monster Energy drink exhibits the guarana additive, a potential CNS stimulant, in its nutritional label. To the control group, Investigators gave a caffeine pill of 200mg, a moderate dose in healthy adults which has been used in numerous studies on different topics and has not been associated with adverse effects such as toxicity, cardiovascular effects, behavior changes, among other things. Because peak absorption of caffeine is reached within 30-45 minutes after the ingestion of caffeine/energy drink, there was a rest period of 30 minutes. Vital signs were measured after the rest period, for the third time. The same 8 BALT's were then performed, for post ingestion results.

02

Conditions studied

  • Disorder

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Keywords

  • Fluid
  • Balance
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Texas Woman's University is the lead sponsor of 83 studies on the registry; 5 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
21 Years to 40 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • subjects between 21 to 40 years of age
  • functional flexibility in the lower extremities
  • functional muscular strength in the lower extremities
  • completing the American College Sports Medicine Health/Fitness Facility Pre-participation screening Questionnaire
  • of 18.5 to 29.9
  • arterial blood pressure less than or equal to 140/90 mmHg
  • pulse at rest between 45-90 beats per minute (BPM) 95% or more of oxygen saturation (spO2).

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • subjects under the age of 21 and over the age of 40
  • answering any questions affirmative on the pre-participation questionnaire
  • cardiovascular problems
  • severe balance problems
  • taking any sedative or stimulant medications
  • medical history of any neurological condition
  • a fall in the last three months
  • having undergone a surgical procedure in the past six months
  • pain in the lower extremities and lower back
  • have suffered a lower back injury and in the lower extremities in the last six months
  • pregnant or suspecting pregnancy
  • experienced adverse effects after caffeine consumption
  • caffeine consumption 12 hours before the study intervention
  • allergies to one of the energy drink ingredients, and 15) people unable to consent.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Screening
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
20 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Sham comparator
    Caffeine Group

    Caffeine group consumed 200mg of caffeine one time.

    Other: Caffeine versus Energy Drink

  • Experimental
    Energy Drink Group

    The energy drink group consumed 1 16 ounces energy drink one time.

    Other: Caffeine versus Energy Drink

Interventions

  • OtherCaffeine versus Energy Drink

    Caffeine group consumed 200mg of caffeine one time, while the energy drink group consumed 1 16 ounces of energy drink.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Center of Pressure and sway EYES OPEN

    Open Eyes (EO) with a fixed point to evaluate all the systems involved in the postural control. This study used (Boston, MA) a pressure platform containing sensors that measure a displacement of the center of pressure in centimeters squared (cm2) (CoP), anteroposterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) sway in centimeters (cm). The data collected from the pressure mat was analyzed with Sway Analysis Module (SAM) software designed for this purpose.

    Time frame: 30 minutes after caffeine or energy drink consumption

  2. Center of Pressure and sway EYES CLOSED

    Eyes Closed (EC) to evaluate the vestibular and somatosensory system, while eliminating the visual sensory input. This study used (Boston, MA) a pressure platform containing sensors that measure a displacement of the center of pressure in centimeters squared (cm2) (CoP), anteroposterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) sway in centimeters (cm). The data collected from the pressure mat was analyzed with Sway Analysis Module (SAM) software designed for this purpose.

    Time frame: 30 minutes after caffeine or energy drink consumption

  3. Center of Pressure and sway EYES HEAD UP AND DOWN

    Eyes Open while actively moving the head up and down (HUD) to evaluate the visual and somatosensory system, while altering the vestibular system with head movements (EO HUD) (For HUD movements a metronome 2/4 60 BPM was used to maintain a fixed frequency of about one spin per second in motion. This study used (Boston, MA) a pressure platform containing sensors that measure a displacement of the center of pressure in centimeters squared (cm2) (CoP), anteroposterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) sway in centimeters (cm). The data collected from the pressure mat was analyzed with Sway Analysis Module (SAM) software designed for this purpose.

    Time frame: 30 minutes after caffeine or energy drink consumption

  4. Center of Pressure and sway CLOSED HEAD UP AND DOWN

    Eyes closed and actively moving the head up and down (EC HUD) to assess the effect of removing the visual input, in a combination of an alteration of the vestibular system with the head up and down movements. This study used (Boston, MA) a pressure platform containing sensors that measure a displacement of the center of pressure in centimeters squared (cm2) (CoP), anteroposterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) sway in centimeters (cm). The data collected from the pressure mat was analyzed with Sway Analysis Module (SAM) software designed for this purpose.

    Time frame: 30 minutes after caffeine or energy drink consumption

  5. Center of Pressure and sway EYES OPEN ON FOAM

    standing on the unstable surface to evaluate the visual and vestibular system while the somatosensory is altered. This study used (Boston, MA) a pressure platform containing sensors that measure a displacement of the center of pressure in centimeters squared (cm2) (CoP), anteroposterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) sway in centimeters (cm). The data collected from the pressure mat was analyzed with Sway Analysis Module (SAM) software designed for this purpose.

    Time frame: 30 minutes after caffeine or energy drink consumption

  6. Center of Pressure and sway EYES CLOSED ON FOAM

    Eyes Closed (MAT EO), standing on the unstable surface to evaluate the vestibular system (the somatosensory was modified and the visual system removed). This study used (Boston, MA) a pressure platform containing sensors that measure a displacement of the center of pressure in centimeters squared (cm2) (CoP), anteroposterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) sway in centimeters (cm). The data collected from the pressure mat was analyzed with Sway Analysis Module (SAM) software designed for this purpose.

    Time frame: 30 minutes after caffeine or energy drink consumption

  7. Center of Pressure and sway EYES OPEN HEAD UP AND DOWN

    Eyes Open (MAT EO HUD) while actively moving the head up and down to evaluate the visual system, while altering the vestibular and somatosensory system. This study used (Boston, MA) a pressure platform containing sensors that measure a displacement of the center of pressure in centimeters squared (cm2) (CoP), anteroposterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) sway in centimeters (cm). The data collected from the pressure mat was analyzed with Sway Analysis Module (SAM) software designed for this purpose.

    Time frame: 30 minutes after caffeine or energy drink consumption

  8. Center of Pressure and sway EYES CLOSED HEAD UP AND DOWN

    Eyes Closed (MAT EC HUD) while actively moving the head up and down (in this test all three systems were altered). The same frequency of motion used for BALT's 3 and 4 in the stable surface (one spin per second, 60 BPM) was maintained for the BALT's with HUD movements on the unstable surface. This study used (Boston, MA) a pressure platform containing sensors that measure a displacement of the center of pressure in centimeters squared (cm2) (CoP), anteroposterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) sway in centimeters (cm). The data collected from the pressure mat was analyzed with Sway Analysis Module (SAM) software designed for this purpose.

    Time frame: 30 minutes after caffeine or energy drink consumption

Secondary outcomes

  1. Body Mass Index

    kg/m\^2

    Time frame: Pre Balance Test-Assessment

  2. Weight

    kilograms

    Time frame: Pre Balance Test-Assessment

  3. Height

    meters

    Time frame: Pre Balance Test-Assessment

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Study locations

1 site
  • Biomechanics Laboratory of the Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy at the School of Health Professions in the Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico (UPR-MSC).
    San Juan, 00936, Puerto Rico
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Ran from Oct 2016 to primary completion in Jan 2017, 3 months.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Sep 8, 2017
First posted
Oct 20, 2017
StartActual
Oct 21, 2016
Primary completionActual
Jan 21, 2017
CompletionActual
Jul 21, 2017
Last update
Nov 17, 2017
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 17, 2017, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03315442
Lead sponsor
Texas Woman's University
Responsible party
Martin Rosario (Assistant Professor, Texas Woman's University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Oct 20, 2017
Start date
Oct 21, 2016
Primary completion
Jan 21, 2017
Completion
Jul 21, 2017
Last update
Nov 17, 2017

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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