Alcohol Consumption Patterns and Risk of Early-Onset Vasomotor Symptoms in Premenopausal Women

Ria Kwon ^1 2, Yoosoo Chang ^1 3 4, Yejin Kim ^1 2, Yoosun Cho ⁵, Hye Rin Choi ^1 2, Ga-Young Lim ^1 2, Jeonggyu Kang ¹, Kye-Hyun Kim ⁶, Hoon Kim ⁷, Yun Soo Hong ⁸, Jihwan Park ⁸, Di Zhao ⁸, Sanjay Rampal ⁹, Juhee Cho ^1 4 8, Eliseo Guallar ⁸, Hyun-Young Park ¹⁰, Seungho Ryu ^1 3 4

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• PMID: 35684078
• PMCID: PMC9182895
• DOI: 10.3390/nu14112276

Free PMC article

Abstract

The role of alcohol consumption in the risk of vasomotor symptoms (VMS), the most cardinal climacteric symptoms, is not well established. We examined their relationship with early-onset VMS among premenopausal women. Moderately-to-severely bothersome VMS, the primary outcome, was assessed using the Korean version of the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire. The alcohol consumption categories included lifetime abstainer, former drinker, or current drinker, categorized as light, moderate, heavy, and very heavy. Compared with the lifetime-abstinence (reference), the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (95% CIs) for prevalent VMS in alcohol consumption of <10, 10-19, 20-39, and ≥40 g/day were 1.42 (1.02-1.99), 1.99 (1.27-3.12), 2.06 (1.19-3.57), and 3.52 (1.72-7.20), respectively (p trend <0.01). Compared with the lifetime-abstinence, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (95% CIs) for incident bothersome VMS among average alcohol consumption of <10, 10-19, 20-39, and ≥40 g/day were 1.10 (0.85-1.41), 1.03 (0.70-1.51), 1.72 (1.06-2.78), and 2.22 (1.16-4.23), respectively (p trend = 0.02). Increased alcohol consumption positively and consistently showed a relationship with increased risk of both prevalent and incident early-onset VMS. Refraining from alcohol consumption may help prevent bothersome VMS in premenopausal women.

Keywords: alcohol consumption; hot flashes; night sweats; premenopausal women; vasomotor symptoms.