Characteristics of US Health Care Providers Who Counsel Adolescents on Sports and Energy Drink Consumption

Abstract

Objective. To examine the proportion of health care providers who counsel adolescent patients on sports and energy drink (SED) consumption and the association with provider characteristics. Methods. This is a cross-sectional analysis of a survey of providers who see patients ≤17 years old. The proportion providing regular counseling on sports drinks (SDs), energy drinks (EDs), or both was assessed. Chi-square analyses examined differences in counseling based on provider characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression calculated adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for characteristics independently associated with SED counseling. Results. Overall, 34% of health care providers regularly counseled on both SEDs, with 41% regularly counseling on SDs and 55% regularly counseling on EDs. On adjusted modeling regular SED counseling was associated with the female sex (aOR: 1.44 [95% CI: 1.07-1.93]), high fruit/vegetable intake (aOR: 2.05 [95% CI: 1.54-2.73]), family/general practitioners (aOR: 0.58 [95% CI: 0.41-0.82]) and internists (aOR: 0.37 [95% CI: 0.20-0.70]) versus pediatricians, and group versus individual practices (aOR: 0.59 [95% CI: 0.42-0.84]). Modeling for SD- and ED-specific counseling found similar associations with provider characteristics. Conclusion. The prevalence of regular SED counseling is low overall and varies. Provider education on the significance of SED counseling and consumption is important.

Figure 1

Flowchart of DocStyles 2011 survey questions regarding sports and energy drink counseling practices among healthcare providers. This flowchart depicts the questions used in this analysis of the DocStyles 2011 survey and how providers were categorized regarding their counseling patterns around sports (SD) and energy (ED) drinks. This categorization formed the basis of the analyses. Individuals answering “both” or “SD only” to Question 1 were asked Question 2. Those who responded with “both” or “ED only” were asked Question 3. Regular SD counseling was defined as those individuals who regularly (“Always” or “Often”) counseled on reducing SD consumption. Regular ED counseling was defined similarly. Comprehensive SED counseling was defined as individuals who counseled on “Both drink types” and counseled regularly for both. ∗ indicates patients excluded from sample due to missing/incomplete demographic information (n = 10), responses to Questions 2 or 3 that are contradictory to responses to Question 1 (n = 9), or answering “Not Sure” to Question 1 (n = 32).