RESUMEN
Objective: Caffeine may cause dependence and sleep disturbance, and interact with psychotropic drugs. Therefore, the caffeine intake of patients with mental disorders should be monitored. However, in Japan, there is no report on the effects of caffeine in mental disease patients or on their caffeine intake. Therefore, we conducted a questionnaire survey to clarify the perception of caffeine for psychiatric outpatients.Methods: We conducted an anonymous survey on caffeine recognition for outpatients at 8 medical institutions that advocate psychiatry.Results: We collected questionnaires from 180 people. The knowledge of foods containing caffeine tended to be high in those who had a positive attitude toward caffeine. More than 90% of those surveyed knew that coffee contains caffeine, but cocoa and jasmine tea were recognized by less than 25%. Of those surveyed, 39.4% consumed caffeine‐containing beverages at night. In addition, the rate of consumption of caffeine‐containing beverages tended to be higher at night because they had a positive attitude toward caffeine.Conclusion: The knowledge and intake situation of caffeine by patients with mental disorders differed depending on their interests and way of thinking about caffeine. As caffeine intake may influence psychiatric treatment, correct knowledge regarding caffeine is important.