Skip Navigation



Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access published online on August 8, 2005
Alcohol and Alcoholism, doi:10.1093/alcalc/agh191
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
40/6/563    most recent
agh191v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by SCHILLING, C.
Right arrow Articles by FLAWS, J. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by SCHILLING, C.
Right arrow Articles by FLAWS, J. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Medical Council on Alcohol. All rights reserved
Received June 15, 2005
Accepted July 12, 2005

Article

CURRENT ALCOHOL USE IS ASSOCIATED WITH A REDUCED RISK OF HOT FLASHES IN MIDLIFE WOMEN

CHRISSY SCHILLING 1, LISA GALLICCHIO 2, SUSAN R. MILLER 3, JANICE K. BABUS 1, LYNN M. LEWIS 1, HOWARD ZACUR 3, and JODI A. FLAWS 1*

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
3 Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
JODI A. FLAWS, E-mail: jflaws{at}epi.umaryland.edu


  Abstract

Aims: To examine the relation between current alcohol use, estradiol, estrone, and testosterone levels, and hot flashes in midlife women using a case-control study design. Methods: Cases were midlife women (45-54 years) who reported ever experiencing hot flashes. Controls were midlife women (45-54 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.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.