Citation

Carroll HA, Lustyk MK, Larimer ME. Arch. Women Ment. Health 2015; 18(6): 773-781.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, hacdougl@uw.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00737-015-0568-2

PMID

26293593

Abstract

Alcohol use affects men and women differently, with women being more affected by the health effects of alcohol use (NIAAA, 2011). Yet, a dearth of information investigating the alcohol use in women exists (SAMSHA, 2011). In particular, one dispositional factor hypothesized to contribute to alcohol consumption in women is the menstrual cycle. However, only 13 empirical papers have considered the menstrual cycle as related to alcohol consumption in women. These studies fall out with somewhat mixed findings suggesting that the premenstrual week is associated with increased, decreased, or no change in alcohol consumption, likely due to methodological differences in menstrual cycle determination and measures of alcohol consumption. These methodological differences and possible other contributing factors are discussed here with recommendations for future research in this area. Understanding the contribution of the menstrual cycle to alcohol consumption is one step in addressing an important women's health concern.

Language: en