Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on October 17, 2006
Alcohol and Alcoholism 2007 42(1):19-23; doi:10.1093/alcalc/agl089
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CONTROLLED STUDY ON THE COMBINED EFFECT OF ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO SMOKING ON TESTOSTERONE IN ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT MEN
1 Division of Substance Use Disorders, Psychiatric University Clinics University of Basel, Switzerland
2 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Würzburg Germany
3 University of Applied Police Sciences Aschersleben Germany
4 Clinical Addiction Medicine, Psychiatric University Hospital Würzburg Germany
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed at: Psychiatric University Clinics, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, 4025 Basel, Switzerland; Tel.: +41 61 325 53 65; Fax:+41 61 325 53 64; E-mail: marc.walter{at}upkbs.ch
Received 7 July 2006; in revised form 17 August 2006; accepted 12 September 2006
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Aims: The present study examined the association between pre-treatment drinking and smoking parameters and plasma testosterone levels before and after alcohol withdrawal. Methods: A total of 51 alcohol-dependent men and 43 age-matched healthy men were investigated. In alcoholics, free testosterone in plasma was measured on the day of admission, after detoxification and after 6 weeks of sobriety. Results: While the testosterone level of alcoholic men did not differ from healthy controls at the onset of withdrawal, it was significantly higher for the alcoholics after 6 weeks of sobriety than for the healthy controls. Higher alcohol consumption and higher tobacco use before detoxification led to higher levels of testosterone concentration before and after withdrawal. Conclusions: The effect of alcohol and tobacco is cumulative, with higher levels of alcohol and tobacco consumption being associated with higher levels of testosterone before and after alcohol withdrawal.