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The Role of the Liver in the Acute Effect of Alcohol on Androgens in Women

Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, National Public Health Institute (T.S., B.v.d.P., C.J.P.E.), FIN-00101 Helsinki, Finland; and Folkhälsan Research Center and Division of Clinical Chemistry, University of Helsinki (H.A., S.H.), FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: C. J. Peter Eriksson, Ph.D., Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, National Public Health Institute, POB 719, FIN-00101 Helsinki, Finland. E-mail: peter.eriksson{at}ktl.fi

The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal and -adrenal axes are regarded as the main sites of the actions of alcohol on steroids. In the present study the effect of alcohol (0.4–0.5 g/kg, orally) on venous plasma and urinary androgens was investigated in 21 premenopausal women using oral contraceptives as well as in 10 premenopausal nonusers.

After intake of alcohol, an acute elevation in plasma testosterone, a decline in androstenedione levels, and an elevation in the ratio of testosterone to androstenedione were observed in both groups. The effects lasted throughout the period of ethanol elimination and were abolished during pretreatment with 4-methylpyrazole (10–15 mg/kg, orally). The acute effects were higher in the group using oral contraceptives than in the nonusers. The testosterone effect in plasma was reflected in the free testosterone fraction. A decline in urinary androsterone and etiocholanolone levels, the principal catabolic products of androgens, was observed during alcohol intoxication.

In conclusion, the present acute effects on plasma and urinary steroid hormones seem to be explained by an inhibited catabolism mediated by the alcohol-induced change in the redox state in the liver. Our results suggests that the liver should be included as a major site in the acute endocrinological effects of alcohol on steroid hormones in women.

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