Even though energy drinks have gained popularity in the 16-2

i think none of the option should be correct.

A, B and E are out for obvious reasons. Pronoun IT referring back to Energy Drinks.

Now b/w C and D am not able to choose any because they both have pronoun WHOSE , THEY.

these pronoun in absence of conjunction should refer back tp preceeding noun. which in case of WHOSE will be caffeine and in case of THEY would again be caffeine.

Thus both are wrong

Experts-please confirm how C is better than D and how to eliminate D
C infact has 'whose' after caffeiene that is incorrect. D looks good meaning wise.

I think whose in C is properly reflecting to people. What's the issue there.

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It might be helpful to study the problem that this one is based on: https://gmatclub.com/forum/while-depres ... 18708.html

Notice that in the original, there's no modifier trouble. In this version, we have to allow "whose" to skip over the modifier ("to caffeine") and modify "people." This is sometimes acceptable, as long as the meaning is clear.

The main problem in D is that we have "they" and "their" referring to two different antecedents: drinks and people. There's no explicit rule against this in real-life English, but the GMAT doesn't like this because it can create confusion, especially since SC sentences don't have any surrounding context to add clarity. Additionally, the structure of the sentence leads us to expect "their" to still refer to "drinks," and this adds to the confusion.

Even though energy drinks have gained popularity in the 16-21 age bracket, it can be potentially detrimental to people sensitive to caffeine, whose sleep patterns could be negatively disrupted.

A it can be potentially detrimental to people sensitive to caffeine, whose -> "energy drinks" -> they
B it can be potentially detrimental to people sensitive to caffeine, because their- same as A
C they are potentially detrimental to people sensitive to caffeine, whose-> "they" modify for "energy drinks" -> CORRECT
D for people with caffeine sensitivity, they can be potentially detrimental in that their -> "they" modify for people with caffeine sensitivity -> wrong -> OUT
E for people sensitive to caffeine it is potentially detrimental, in that to their- No Subject-> Out

Even though energy drinks have gained popularity in the 16-21 age bracket, it can be potentially detrimental to people sensitive to caffeine, whose sleep patterns could be negatively disrupted.

A it can be potentially detrimental to people sensitive to caffeine, whose
it is wrong, it cannot refer to the drinks, and it can also not refer to the trend because the trend is not detrimental
B it can be potentially detrimental to people sensitive to caffeine, because their
Same error as A
C they are potentially detrimental to people sensitive to caffeine, whose
Correct answer
D for people with caffeine sensitivity, they can be potentially detrimental in that their
Misplaced modifier
E for people sensitive to caffeine it is potentially detrimental, in that to their
it is wrongly used here.