Background: Stress and everyday problems may impact memory and cognition. Therefore, many people use cognitive enhancers (CEs), sold for prescription, as over-the-counter drugs, or dietary supplements, believing they may help with everyday functioning. Our study was designed to answer whether taking CEs is common among Medical University students and to identify which substances are mainly used.
Methods and results: An anonymous online questionnaire was answered by 479 students of Medical (88%) and Dentistry (12%) Faculties in Poland. Women constituted the majority of respondents (63%). CEs were used by 53% of respondents, with the most frequent being caffeine, ginseng, nicotine, theanine, ginkgo, and lecithin. Some persons used CEs that are available only with a prescription. The most important reasons for the use of CEs were to increase arousal and improve concentration (mentioned by 81% and 73%, respectively). Over 65% of students experienced some undesired/adverse effects after taking CEs, with tachycardia being the most common, followed by sleep disturbances (reported by 51% and 40%, respectively).
Conclusions: More than half of the respondents from the Medical and Dentistry Faculties reported using CEs, despite their unproven efficacy and not-well-established safety. This raises significant concern about the knowledge of young persons regarding CEs and should encourage universities to undertake educational actions.
Keywords: Medical University students; caffeine; cognitive enhancers; dietary supplements; ginkgo; ginseng; lecithin; nicotine; online survey; theanine.