Survey study, 2023
Does drinking behavior change across the menstrual cycle?
Yes, clear differences. Women drink more during mid-cycle and are more likely to drink heavily around ovulation and right before their period, especially on weekends. They also drink more to cope with stress right before their period.
What they did
Cross-sectional study collecting daily reports over multiple cycles. 94 women in psychiatric outpatient programs reported their daily drinking every day. Ovulation was confirmed by measuring hormone levels. Researchers looked at drinking patterns and reasons for drinking across cycle phases, separately for weekdays and weekends.
What they found
Women were more likely to drink during mid-cycle than right before their period. They drank heavily more often on weekends during ovulation and the perimenstrual phase compared to mid-cycle. Social drinking motives were highest on weekends in ovulation, mid-follicular, and mid-cycle phases, but lower around their period even on weekends. Drinking to cope was higher right before their period compared to mid-cycle, regardless of the day of week.
What it means for you
Drinking patterns shift predictably across the menstrual cycle, with increased heavy drinking around ovulation and before the period. Women also use drinking more to manage emotions before menstruation. However, this study included women in psychiatric treatment with recent thoughts of suicide, so findings may not apply to all women.
94
Women in study
3721
Daily alcohol reports collected
About the study
- Original title
- Alcohol use and motives for drinking across the menstrual cycle in a psychiatric outpatient sample
- Authors
- Barone JC, Ross JM, Nagpal A et al.
- Journal
- Alcohol, clinical & experimental research
- Year
- 2023
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 3,721
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/acer.14971
Topics
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