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This version published online on December 11, 2007
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, doi:10.1210/jc.2007-0737
A more recent version of this article appeared on March 1, 2008
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Submitted on April 2, 2007
Accepted on November 29, 2007

The Relationship between Alcohol Consumption and Cortisol Secretion in an Aging Cohort

Ellena Badrick MSc*, Martin Bobak PhD, Annie Britton PhD, Clemens Kirschbaum PhD, Michael Marmot PhD, and Meena Kumari PhD

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (E.S.), 1-19 Torrington Place, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT; International Institute of Society and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, 1-19 Torrington Place, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT; Biological Psychology, Technical University of Dresden, D-01062 Dresden, Germany

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: e.badrick{at}ucl.ac.uk.

Context: Evidence for an association between alcohol consumption and activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is inconclusive.

Objective: To assess the relationship between indices of alcohol consumption and salivary cortisol concentration.

Design: Cross-sectional study of alcohol consumption and cortisol secretion from phase 7 (2002–2004) of the Whitehall II study.

Setting: Occupational cohort originally recruited in 1985–1987.

Participants: 2693 men and 977 women had information on cortisol levels and alcohol consumption.

Outcome Measures: Saliva samples were taken on waking, waking + 0.5, 2.5, 8, 12 hours, and bedtime for the assessment of cortisol.

Results: In men, there was a positive association between cortisol and units of alcohol intake per week (3% increase in cortisol per unit of alcohol consumed p=0.010). The slope of cortisol decline over the day in heavy drinkers was reduced (heavy drinkers {beta} =-0.155, moderate drinkers {beta} =-0.151), indicating reduced control of the HPA axis in heavy drinkers. In women the CAR was greater in heavy drinkers 14.15 (9.12–19.17) nmol/l compared to moderate drinkers 8.69 (7.72–9.67) nmol/l, p=0.037.

Conclusion: This study suggests that alcohol consumption is associated with activation of the HPA axis. These results are not due to alcohol consumption on the day, suggesting chronic changes of the HPA axis in heavy drinking groups.






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