Alcohol consumption and serum hormone levels during pregnancy

Stevens, Richard G.; Cohen, Richard D.; Terry, Mary Beth; Lasley, Bill L.; Siiteri, Pentti; Cohn, Barbara A.

doi:10.1016/j.alcohol.2005.07.006

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Volume 36, Issue 1 , Pages 47-53, May 2005

Alcohol consumption and serum hormone levels during pregnancy

Richard G. Stevens
- Department of Community Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Ave., Farmington, CT 06030, USA
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-860-679-5475; fax: +1-860-679-5463.
Richard D. Cohen
- Child Health and Development Studies, Center for Research on Women's and Children's Health, Public Health Institute, 1683 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709, USA
Mary Beth Terry
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 600 West 168th St., New York, NY 10032, USA
Bill L. Lasley
- University of California, Center for Health and the Environment, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Pentti Siiteri
- University of California, Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Barbara A. Cohn
- Child Health and Development Studies, Center for Research on Women's and Children's Health, Public Health Institute, 1683 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709, USA

Received 4 May 2005; received in revised form 28 June 2005; accepted 18 July 2005.

Abstract

Factors that change sex hormone levels during pregnancy may have long-term health consequences for the offspring, including changes in breast cancer risk. A cross-sectional analysis of alcohol consumption and hormone levels in 339 pregnant women sampled from the Child Health and Development Study cohort was undertaken. Alcohol intake was queried from 1959 to 1966, long before any hazards of drinking during pregnancy were publicized. Third trimester serum hormone levels including estradiol and testosterone were analyzed. Among 339 pregnant women, 196 reported some alcohol consumption during pregnancy. The drinkers were divided into three groups with intake levels of 0.2–0.5, 0.6–2.0, and 2.1–12.5 ounces of ethanol per week. The second group corresponds to a median intake of ∼2 drinks per week, and the last group corresponds to a median intake of ∼1 drink per day, which is considered “light” to “moderate” drinking. Maternal estradiol levels were not associated with alcohol intake during pregnancy. However, serum testosterone was significantly lower, by 12.2%, in the latter two groups of drinking pregnant women, [confidence interval (CI)=−3.0 to 25.2] and 25.6% (CI=9.2–39.5), respectively. The alcohol intakes reported are far below those shown to cause fetal alcohol syndrome, or any of the fetal alcohol effects so far studied. Light alcohol intake during pregnancy is associated with lower maternal testosterone. The health implications are uncertain, but may include an increased breast density in the daughters of drinking mothers.