Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on August 8, 2005
Alcohol and Alcoholism 2005 40(6):563-568; doi:10.1093/alcalc/agh191
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CURRENT ALCOHOL USE IS ASSOCIATED WITH A REDUCED RISK OF HOT FLASHES IN MIDLIFE WOMEN
1 Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Program in Toxicology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 660 West Redwood Street, Howard Hall Room 133, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA, 2 Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA and 3 Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed at: Tel.: +1 410 706 3606; Fax: +1 410 706 1503; Email: jflaws{at}epi.umaryland.edu
(Received 15 June 2005; first review notified 1 July 2005; accepted in final revised form 12 July 2005)
Aims: To examine the relation between current alcohol use, estradiol, estrone, and testosterone levels, and hot flashes in midlife women using a casecontrol study design. Methods: Cases were midlife women (4554 years) who reported ever experiencing hot flashes. Controls were midlife women (4554 years) who reported never experiencing hot flashes. Each participant completed a questionnaire and provided a blood sample that was used to measure estradiol, estrone, and testosterone levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The results indicate that current alcohol use (at least one day per month) was significantly associated with a reduced risk of hot flashes compared to non-use of alcohol, independent of age and smoking habits. The hot flashes experienced by current alcohol users were less severe and less frequent than those experienced by non-users of alcohol. Further, current alcohol users had similar levels of estradiol, estrone, and testosterone compared to non-users of alcohol. Conclusions: These data suggest that current alcohol use is associated with a reduced risk of any, severe, and frequent hot flashes in midlife women by a mechanism that may not include changes in sex steroid hormone levels.