Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Cameron, Mary

Abstract

While coffee culture has long since been positively associated with intellectual and working life, the health and safety of its primary stimulant, caffeine, has recently fallen under scrutiny by the FDA. This medical anthropology thesis provides a biocultural synthesis of caffeine culture, health effects, and biological variation in adverse effects related to pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. Supporting evidence for variation in responses to caffeine was found through surveying 100 participants, investigating caffeine consumption levels, perceptions and health beliefs, adverse effects experienced, and medical encounters. Increased rates of adverse effects were found for students, pharmaceutical and over-the-counter drug users, and for participants reporting negative or ambivalent perceptions of caffeine, intolerance, or sensitivity to caffeine. Variation in rates of adverse effects suggests biocultural interactions account not only for patterns in pharmacological data, but are also clinically significant in constructing risk of caffeine intoxication.

Extent

112 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00004319

Format

pdf

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