Influence of Age and Sex on Alcohol Pharmacokinetics and Subjective Pharmacodynamic Responses Following Intravenous Alcohol Exposure in Humans

Overview

Journal Alcohol

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2022 Sep 24

PMID 36152778

Authors

Vatsalya Vatsalya

Nia D Byrd

Bethany L Stangl

Reza Momenan

Vijay A Ramchandani

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

There are substantial inter-individual variations in alcohol metabolism and response that are likely due to sex and age; however, these are not well understood. We investigated age and sex influences on alcohol elimination rate (AER) and subjective responses following intravenous (IV) administration in non-dependent drinkers. Participants underwent a 2-session study where they received IV alcohol (target breath alcohol level: 0.05 g%) and placebo in counter-balanced order. AER was higher in males than in females across age groups. These differences were partly explained by sex differences in lean body mass and liver volume. Alcohol significantly increased peak feelings of high, intoxication, drug-effects, liking-effects, and wanting-more, with no major sex differences. There were no age-related differences in feelings of high and intoxication; however, the older group reported significantly lower peak liking-effects and stimulation responses than the younger group. These findings highlight the significant impact of sex and age as sources of variability in the clinical pharmacology of alcohol.

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