THE EFFECT OF ACUTE ETHANOL INGESTION ON ESTROGEN-LEVELS IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN USING TRANSDERMAL ESTRADIOL

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether acute alcohol ingestion raises estradi ol (E2) and estone (E1) levels in a randomized, controlled, crossover study on postmenopausal women using transdermal E2. METHODS: Healthy, non-smoking postmenopausal women (n = 7) using no medications were enr olled. Transdermal E2, 0.15 mg, was applied 13 hours before the subjec ts ingested alcohol (1 mL/kg 95% ethanol) or isacaloric carbohydrate p unch. Serum samples were obtained for 40 minutes before drink ingestio n and and hours after drink ingestion and were assayed for E2 and E1. RESULTS: Ethanol levels peaked 60 minutes after the start of ethanol-d rink ingestion, at 25.4 mmol/L (117 mg/dL). Estradiol levels rose sign ificantly above the mean baseline of 657 pmol/L (179 pg/mL) after etha nol-drink ingestion (P less than or equal to .01), with a mean peak of 804 pmol/L (219 pg/mL) 35 minutes after the start of drink ingestion, and weve significantly greater than the E2 levels that followed the c arbohydrate drink (P less than or equal to .0001). There were no signi ficant changes in E2 or E1 levels after carbohydrate-drink ingestion. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that ethanol ingestion may acutely raise circ ulating E2 concentrations in women using tranrdermal E2.