"A new study reveals hormonal and biochemical factors that affect alcohol dependence (also known as Alcohol Use Disorder), suggesting that men and women with alcohol problems may benefit from different treatments.
They found that at the beginning of the trial men with Alcohol Use Disorder, symptoms of depression, and higher craving for alcohol, also had lower levels of the hormones testosterone, estrone, estradiol, as well as the protein sex hormone binding globulin. No such associations were found in women with AUD.
Professor Karpyak said, "We found that there were different associations in men and women. For example, women who had higher levels of testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin, and albumin were also more likely to relapse during the first three months of treatment compared to women with lower levels of those biochemical markers." No such relationships were found in men.
"These hormones and proteins are known to have an influence on behavior, and indeed we see an association between different levels of these compounds and different behavioral aspects of alcohol use disorder, although we can't for sure say that one directly causes another. What it does mean is that if you are treating a man and a woman for alcoholism, you are dealing with different biochemical and psychological starting points. This implies that what works for a man may not work for a woman, and vice versa."
MedicalXpress
LESSON: Men & Women ARE different