Changes in excessive alcohol use among older women across the menopausal transition: a longitudinal analysis of the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation

Abstract

Background: Recent data suggest that excessive alcohol use is increasing among women and older adults. Such trends are concerning, as women are more vulnerable to alcohol-related health consequences, and such health problems may be exacerbated with age. Furthermore, there are sex-specific factors that may influence alcohol consumption among women, including the hormonal changes associated with the menopausal transition and negative affect. The present study sought to investigate transitions in excessive drinking among women across the menopausal transition and included exploration of sex hormones (estradiol; testosterone) and depression. Methods: The present study utilized publicly available data from the Study of Women Across the Nation (SWAN) and included 3302 women (42-52 years old at baseline), who completed 10 years of annual assessments. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) criteria were used as guidance when defining excessive drinking within the present dataset. At year 1, 170 women were identified as drinking excessively. Random-effect logistic regressions were used to examine transitions in excessive drinking. Results: Women identified as excessive drinkers were more likely to transition to non-excessive drinking across all menopausal transition stages (ORs range = 3.71-5.11), while women were more likely to transition from nonexcessive to excessive drinking during the early peri-and postmenopausal stages (OR = 1.52 and 1.98, respectively). Higher testosterone levels were associated with a decreased likelihood of transitioning to non-excessive drinking (OR = 0.59). Depression and estradiol levels were not related to transitions in drinking. Conclusions: The present study demonstrates that the menopausal transition marks a period of instability in alcohol use among women. Further research is warranted to understand factors related to transitioning in and out of excessive drinking.

The chronic alcohol consumption influences the gonadal axis in men: Results from a meta‐analysis

“…Fifty-nine studies were extracted after abstract evaluation and 21 studies were finally included in the analysis, for a total of 30 trials (Figure 1). Among studies excluded, 12 studies enrolled only females, [53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64] 10 did not provide a control group, [65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74] 7 studies did not report hormonal data within the manuscript, [75][76][77][78][79][80][81] 5 did not measure T serum concentrations, [82][83][84][85][86] and 4 were duplicates of previous publications [87][88][89][90] (Figure 1). Table 1 summarizes data of included studies, of which 4 evaluated acute alcohol intake and 17 considered chronic alcohol intake.…”

Depressive symptoms and suicidality by menopausal stages among middle-aged Korean women

“…Studies have suggested that as women reach menopause, various environmental or psychosocial factors such as retirement and loss of loved ones, along with changes in body composition, may affect or exacerbate their drinking habits (Milic et al ., 2018 ). Based on the data from the SWAN study, although excessive alcohol consumption may not increase during MT, it is a period of instability that may be associated with changes in alcohol-related behaviours (Peltier et al ., 2020 ), which may also be driven by affective factors such as negative mood, retained stress and depressive symptoms related to menopause which may trigger suicidal ideation. Nevertheless, due to the cross-sectional nature of our study, it is difficult to draw conclusions regarding the role of alcohol use in the relationship between MT and depressive symptoms.…”

Fatores de riscos associados ao comportamento alimentar em mulheres climatéricas assistidas na Atenção Primária à Saúde

“…Além do mais, a transição da menopausa na maioria das mulheres é conhecida também pela instabilidade emocional4, isso devido à baixa hormonal e outros fatores que poderão levar ao consumo excessivo do álcool como uma escapatória para as emoções relacionadas a essa transição. Pesquisa atual insinua que o padrão de consumo alcoólico está aumentando na senilidade, o que poderá potencializar as doenças acometidas pela idade e também em mulheres, que são mais vulneráveis aos efeitos relacionados ao consumo exacerbado (Peltier et al, 2020).…”