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. 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. 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 non-excessive 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. 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.

中文翻译：

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更年期过渡期间老年妇女过度饮酒的变化：对全国妇女健康研究的纵向分析。

最近的数据表明，女性和老年人的过度饮酒正在增加。这种趋势令人担忧，因为女性更容易受到与酒精有关的健康后果的影响，而且这种健康问题可能会随着年龄的增长而加剧。此外，还有一些性别特定的因素可能会影响女性的饮酒量，包括与更年期过渡和负面影响相关的荷尔蒙变化。本研究试图调查更年期过渡期间女性过度饮酒的转变，包括探索性激素（雌二醇；睾酮）和抑郁症。本研究利用来自全国妇女研究 (SWAN) 的公开数据，包括 3302 名女性（基线年龄为 42-52 岁），她们完成了 10 年的年度评估。在当前数据集中定义过度饮酒时，使用国家酒精滥用和酒精中毒研究所 (NIAAA) 标准作为指导。在第 1 年，有 170 名女性被确定为过度饮酒。随机效应逻辑回归用于检查过度饮酒的转变。在所有更年期过渡阶段（OR 范围 = 3.71–5.11），被确定为过度饮酒的女性更有可能过渡到非过度饮酒，而在围绝经期早期和绝经后早期，女性更有可能从非过度饮酒过渡到过度饮酒阶段（OR = 1.52 和 1.98，分别）。较高的睾酮水平与过渡到非过量饮酒的可能性降低有关（OR = 0.59）。抑郁和雌二醇水平与饮酒转变无关。本研究表明，更年期过渡标志着女性饮酒的不稳定时期。需要进一步的研究来了解与过度饮酒和戒酒有关的因素。