Estrogen therapy and alcohol: A bad mix?
A recent study found that postmenopausal women taking estrogen replacement therapy who drank the alcoholic equivalent of half a glass of wine, on average, doubled the amount of estrogen in their blood. After these women drank the alcoholic equivalent of three glasses of wine, their estrogen levels surged more than threefold.
The study, published in the Dec. 4 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, was conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. This is the first study to consider the effects of alcohol on oral estrogen replacement therapy.
Twenty-four women participated in the study: half of the participants were not taking estrogen and half of the participants were taking one milligram of estradiol, a potent form of estrogen.
Half of the women in each group drank a cocktail made of pineapple juice and vodka, which was equivalent in alcoholic content to three glasses of wine. The other half of the group drank a mixture of pineapple juice, glucose, and water. The study found estradiol climbed at the same rate as blood alcohol levels.
Drinking had no noticeable effect on the levels of natural estradiol in the blood of women not on estrogen replacement therapy, according to researchers.
The study's authors said it was premature for healthcare providers to tell women taking estrogen to abstain from alcohol.
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