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Published on: June 23, 2023
Current alcohol use is associated with a reduced risk of hot flashes in midlife women
Chrissy Schilling1, Lisa Gallicchio, Susan R Miller
1Department 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.
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.
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