Hospices Civils de Lyon
Service Universitaire d’Addictologie de Lyon
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1
Thesis title : Sexual hormones and ALcohol use : Association between the Menstrual cycle And alcohol use disorDER (SALAMANDER)
Year of registration : 2025
Co-supervisors : Corinne Dupont et Benjamin Rolland
In France, the 2021 Public Health Barometer showed a shift in alcohol consumption among women, with a significant increase in binge drinking episodes (API – alcoolisations ponctuelles importantes), with the average monthly frequency rising from 7.6% in 2017 to 8.6% in 2021. This trend represents a major public health concern, as it increases the risks of cancers, cardiovascular and digestive diseases, accidents, and suicides. Although daily alcohol consumption is less common among women (3.8%) than among men (12.6%), women show greater vulnerability to developing alcohol use disorder (AUD).
There are many cultural factors that help explain this vulnerability, but human and animal studies also show that ovarian hormones play a key role. For instance, progesterone appears to have a protective effect against alcohol consumption. An inverse correlation has been observed between progesterone levels and the craving or desire to drink alcohol. Moreover, the frequency of binge drinking episodes varies across the menstrual cycle, with a higher risk during the ovulatory phase (when estradiol peaks) compared to the luteal phase, which is characterized by elevated progesterone levels.
In AUD, anxiety appears to be a more common motivation for drinking among women than among men. Among women, however, anxiety also seems to be influenced by the menstrual cycle and the progesterone/estradiol ratio. To date, no study in France has explored whether stress or anxiety levels associated with peaks in alcohol consumption among women with AUD could be explained by hormonal fluctuations. Such findings could lead to personalized treatment for women with AUD, possibly including therapeutic interventions with hormonal treatments for some of them.
The SALAMANDER study aims to investigate the association between (1) menstrual cycle phases, (2) levels of alcohol consumption, and (3) levels of stress, anxiety, and quality of life in women with AUD who are still consuming alcohol (not abstinent).
