Survey study, 2017
Do your menstrual hormones affect how much you drink?
Yes. When estradiol was high and progesterone was low, around the time you ovulate, women drank more and binged more, but only on weekends.
What they did
Scientists studied 22 college women ages 18 to 22 for 35 days. Each morning the women gave a saliva sample to measure their estradiol and progesterone. Each day they reported how much alcohol they drank and if they binged.
What they found
High estradiol levels combined with low progesterone levels were linked to more drinking and binge drinking. This effect only appeared on weekend days, not weekdays.
What it means for you
Hormones may affect drinking patterns across your cycle. The study was very small and all participants were college-age, so we do not know if this applies to all women or all ages. The results suggest that doctors should ask about your menstrual cycle when assessing drinking or substance use.
22
Women studied
35
Days tracked
About the study
- Original title
- Interactive effects of ovarian steroid hormones on alcohol use and binge drinking across the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Martel MM, Eisenlohr-Moul T, Roberts B
- Journal
- Journal of abnormal psychology
- Year
- 2017
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 22
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1037/abn0000304
Topics
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