Sex hormones and adrenocortical steroids in men acutely intoxicated with ethanol.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Self-controlled crossover trial without reported randomization
PubMed 6443186 · doi:10.1016/0741-8329(84)90043-0
What was done
Eight healthy male volunteers were evaluated over a 48-hour period after ingesting a single large dose of ethanol (1.75 g/kg body weight) consumed within the first 3 hours. Each participant served as his own control in an identical non-alcohol session. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and circulating levels of testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL), cortisol, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone, estrone, and estradiol were tracked across 48 hours.
What was found
Blood alcohol concentration peaked at 1.51 +/- 0.08 g/l (mean +/- SEM) at 4 hours. Serum testosterone reached its maximal decrease at 12 hours, at which point LH and FSH concentrations remained unchanged. Testosterone remained suppressed at 24 hours despite subsequent elevations in LH and FSH. At 4 hours post-ingestion, concentrations of cortisol, PRL, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone were elevated. The duration of elevated cortisol matched the duration of testosterone suppression. Estrone and estradiol showed no significant changes. Exact numeric hormone values and confidence intervals were not reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
The findings demonstrate that acute ethanol-induced testosterone suppression precedes pituitary gonadotropin responses and parallels adrenocortical activation, suggesting that both direct gonadal suppression and cortisol-mediated mechanisms drive the decrease in testosterone.
Limits
The study evaluated a very small cohort (n = 8) consisting entirely of healthy men, limiting generalizability to females or populations with chronic alcohol dependence. The abstract does not specify whether the order of alcohol and control sessions was randomized. Exact hormone values and variance measures are omitted from the abstract text.
Cited by
- contradicts Acute alcohol consumption typically increases GnRH, LH, FSH, and estrogen/estradiol levels, while decreasing testosterone and progesterone levels.