Acute alcohol intoxication in women: relationship to dose and menstrual cycle phase

This study investigated relationships between metabolic responses to acute alcohol intoxication and phases of the female menstrual cycle among women demonstrated to have ovulated during two consecutive cycles. Subjects were administered moderate (0.66 ml/kg) and high (1.0 ml/kg) alcohol doses during the early follicular, ovulatory, and midluteal phases of the menstrual cycles. Radioimmunoassays (RIAs) of serum estradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels were performed from blood collected before each alcohol administration. Results showed decreased elimination times, reduced areas under the BAC-time curve (AUCs), and faster disappearance rates associated with the midluteal menstrual phase compared to the early follicular and ovulatory phases which were consistent for both moderate and high alcohol doses. Decreased elimination times, smaller AUCs, and faster disappearance rates were associated with increased levels of progesterone, elevated progesterone to estradiol ratios, and decreased FSH levels. No differences were found in absorption time or peak BAC across phases of the menstrual cycle.