Preliminary evidence of increased alcohol use associated with ethinyl estradiol levels in women using oral contraceptives
Alcohol use is highly prevalent in young adult women and rates of alcohol use disorder are rising rapidly in this population. Further, emerging evidence suggests that circulating levels of ovarian hormones influence alcohol consumption, with increased consumption associated with higher estradiol and...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772724623000641 |
| _version_ | 1797388642139766784 |
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| author | Ashley M. Strzelecki Cassandra D. Gipson Emma Childs Jessica Weafer |
| author_facet | Ashley M. Strzelecki Cassandra D. Gipson Emma Childs Jessica Weafer |
| author_sort | Ashley M. Strzelecki |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Alcohol use is highly prevalent in young adult women and rates of alcohol use disorder are rising rapidly in this population. Further, emerging evidence suggests that circulating levels of ovarian hormones influence alcohol consumption, with increased consumption associated with higher estradiol and lower progesterone levels. However, less is known about the influence of synthetic hormones (contained in oral contraceptive (OC) pills) on alcohol use. The current study examined the influence of OC pill phase, ethinyl estradiol (EE) levels, and progestin levels on self-reported alcohol consumption in healthy female drinkers. Young adult female drinkers using OCs (N = 21) reported alcohol use across one OC pill pack using the Timeline Followback and provided blood samples during both pill phases to measure synthetic hormone levels. We compared alcohol use between OC pill phases (active vs. inactive) using linear mixed effects models for repeated measures and examined correlations between alcohol use and EE and progestin levels. Results showed that women with higher EE levels reported increased alcohol consumption (r = 0.56, p = 0.01) and binge drinking (r = 0.45, p = 0.04) in the active pill phase. Progestin levels and pill phase were not significantly associated with alcohol consumption. These findings provide preliminary data suggesting increased levels of EE from OC pills are associated with excessive alcohol consumption in women. Further research is needed to determine if EE plays a causal role in increased alcohol consumption. This line of research could inform female-specific AUD prevention and treatment strategies among the large subpopulation of women using hormonal contraceptives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:43:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-db407806945c42b0a85388b7640415b5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2772-7246 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:43:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-db407806945c42b0a85388b7640415b52023-12-17T06:43:40ZengElsevierDrug and Alcohol Dependence Reports2772-72462023-12-019100194Preliminary evidence of increased alcohol use associated with ethinyl estradiol levels in women using oral contraceptivesAshley M. Strzelecki0Cassandra D. Gipson1Emma Childs2Jessica Weafer3Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United StatesDepartment of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States; Corresponding author at: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States.Alcohol use is highly prevalent in young adult women and rates of alcohol use disorder are rising rapidly in this population. Further, emerging evidence suggests that circulating levels of ovarian hormones influence alcohol consumption, with increased consumption associated with higher estradiol and lower progesterone levels. However, less is known about the influence of synthetic hormones (contained in oral contraceptive (OC) pills) on alcohol use. The current study examined the influence of OC pill phase, ethinyl estradiol (EE) levels, and progestin levels on self-reported alcohol consumption in healthy female drinkers. Young adult female drinkers using OCs (N = 21) reported alcohol use across one OC pill pack using the Timeline Followback and provided blood samples during both pill phases to measure synthetic hormone levels. We compared alcohol use between OC pill phases (active vs. inactive) using linear mixed effects models for repeated measures and examined correlations between alcohol use and EE and progestin levels. Results showed that women with higher EE levels reported increased alcohol consumption (r = 0.56, p = 0.01) and binge drinking (r = 0.45, p = 0.04) in the active pill phase. Progestin levels and pill phase were not significantly associated with alcohol consumption. These findings provide preliminary data suggesting increased levels of EE from OC pills are associated with excessive alcohol consumption in women. Further research is needed to determine if EE plays a causal role in increased alcohol consumption. This line of research could inform female-specific AUD prevention and treatment strategies among the large subpopulation of women using hormonal contraceptives.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772724623000641Birth controlSynthetic hormonesBinge drinkingAlcohol use |
| spellingShingle | Ashley M. Strzelecki Cassandra D. Gipson Emma Childs Jessica Weafer Preliminary evidence of increased alcohol use associated with ethinyl estradiol levels in women using oral contraceptives Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports Birth control Synthetic hormones Binge drinking Alcohol use |
| title | Preliminary evidence of increased alcohol use associated with ethinyl estradiol levels in women using oral contraceptives |
| title_full | Preliminary evidence of increased alcohol use associated with ethinyl estradiol levels in women using oral contraceptives |
| title_fullStr | Preliminary evidence of increased alcohol use associated with ethinyl estradiol levels in women using oral contraceptives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Preliminary evidence of increased alcohol use associated with ethinyl estradiol levels in women using oral contraceptives |
| title_short | Preliminary evidence of increased alcohol use associated with ethinyl estradiol levels in women using oral contraceptives |
| title_sort | preliminary evidence of increased alcohol use associated with ethinyl estradiol levels in women using oral contraceptives |
| topic | Birth control Synthetic hormones Binge drinking Alcohol use |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772724623000641 |
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