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Cited by 114Stress Responses and CortisolSubstance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesAlcohol Consumption and Health Effects

Attenuated cortisol response to alcohol in heavy social drinkers

King, Andrea, Munisamy, Geetha, de Wit, Harriet, Lin, Shang·2006·International Journal of Psychophysiology
DOI 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2005.10.008
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Abstract

Individual differences in response to stress may play a role in the development and maintenance of addictive behaviors. While there is evidence that people with a biological family history for alcoholism have a blunted cortisol response to alcohol, data are lacking in other at-risk subgroups, such as heavy social drinkers. The present study examined salivary cortisol response to administration of 0.0, 0.4 (2 drink equivalent), and 0.8 g/kg (4 drink equivalent) alcohol in two groups of social drinkers: heavy drinkers (n=32) and light social drinkers (n=23). The study was conducted double-blind and drink-order was counterbalanced between groups. Salivary cortisol and subjective measures were obtained at predrink baseline, and 15, 45, 105, and 165 min after beverage consumption. Results showed a significant groupxdosextime interaction (p<0.005), with alcohol (0.8 g/kg) producing an attenuated cortisol response in heavy drinkers compared to the light drinkers during the declining phase of the BAC. This outcome remained even after controlling for the effects of smoking status, family history of alcoholism, sex, and negative affect ratings during the session. Neither placebo nor the lower dose of alcohol significantly increased cortisol levels. In sum, a relatively high dose of alcohol produced a smaller increase in cortisol in heavy drinkers compared to light drinkers. The reduced cortisol reactivity in the heavier drinkers is consistent with reports that individuals at risk for alcoholism are hyporesponsive to physical and psychological stress. Further research may help determine whether alteration in cortisol response to alcohol is a biological marker of the propensity to abuse alcohol.

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  • Compared with light drinkers, heavy drinkers exhibited higher alcohol sensitivity in subjective stimulation and reward (liking and wanting), as well as lower sensitivity in subjective sedation and salivary cortisol reactivity.

    “Our previously published results showed that compared with light drinkers, heavy drinkers exhibited both higher alcohol sensitivity, in terms of subjective stimulation and reward (liking and wanting)(29), as well as lower sensitivity, in terms of subjective sedation(29), and salivary cortisol reactivity(29, 32).”

    From A Prospective 5-Year Re-examination of Alcohol Response in Heavy Drinkers Progressing in Alcohol Use Disorder (2016) · cites this paper as [32]

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Authors
King, A., Munisamy, G., de Wit, H., & Lin, S.
Affiliations
University of Chicago (US)
Corresponding author
King, Andrea
ORCID
King, Andrea
Venue
International Journal of Psychophysiology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2006-03
Volume
59
Issue
3
Pages
203-209
ISSN
0167-8760 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2005.10.008
OpenAlex
W2134946465
Cited by
114
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 7
FWCI
1.53
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • International Journal of Psychophysiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R01AA013746)
  • National Center for Research Resources (M01-RR 00055, M01RR000055)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects
Keywords
alcohol, cortisol, salivary cortisol, alcoholism risk, blood alcohol concentration, sex differences
MeSH terms
Adult, Ethanol, Alcoholism, Arousal, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Double-Blind Method, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Male, Motivation, Social Environment, Stress, Psychological

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