Key result
Acute alcohol consumption increased cortisol levels in females and heart rate in both sexes, while a history of binge drinking was associated with higher baseline cortisol, systolic blood pressure in males, and heart rate in females.
Why the study?
Excessive alcohol consumption is a public health problem affecting adolescents, but the effects of a binge drinking history and acute alcohol consumption on their stress response required clarification.
Does a history of binge drinking and/or acute alcohol consumption affect the stress response in female and male adolescents?
Does a history of binge drinking and/or acute alcohol consumption affect the stress response in female and male adolescents?
A history of binge drinking in adolescents is associated with HPA axis dysregulation, leading to elevated cortisol, blood pressure, and heart rate.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Acute alcohol and binge drinking effects on cortisol/hemodynamics are hypothesis-generating; larger studies needed before clinical relevance.
Excessive alcohol consumption is a worldwide public health problem, being adolescents and young adults the population most affected by this problem. The aim of this study was to clarify the effects of having a history of binge drinking (BD) and/or acute alcohol consumption on the stress response in female and male adolescents. Participants were 235 adolescents (143 females and 92 males). Cortisol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), heart rate (HR) and perceived stress (PS) were evaluated in adolescents with different and similar blood alcohol concentrations (BAC). In Experiment 1, the effects of alcohol were studied separately in females and males because of differences in BAC. In Experiment 2, a direct comparison between sexes was carried out in a counterbalanced selection of participants with similar BAC. In Experiment 1, females receiving alcohol showed an increase in cortisol and HR, and binge drinkers displayed higher HR than refrainers. Male refrainers receiving alcohol showed higher HR, and binge drinkers showed higher cortisol and SBP than refrainers. In Experiment 2, similar results were observed and sex differences were evident, with males showing higher cortisol and SBP, and lower PS than females. In conclusion, the normal response of the adolescent HPA axis to alcohol consumption is an increase in cortisol levels in females, as well as HR in both sexes. In addition, a history of BD is associated with HPA axis dysregulation, which is manifested by higher values of cortisol (independently of sex), SBP in male and HR in female healthy adolescents.
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Ramírez-Piña et al. (2021) studied Binge drinking (n=235). Acute alcohol intake and/or history of binge drinking vs. Control beverage and/or abstainers was evaluated on Salivary cortisol concentration (nmol/L) in females following acute alcohol intake (p=0.015). Acute alcohol consumption increased cortisol levels in females and heart rate in both sexes, while a history of binge drinking was associated with higher baseline cortisol, systolic blood pressure in males, and heart rate in females.
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