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Hydrocortisone Content of Human Blood, and Alcohol Content of Blood and Urine, after Wine Consumption
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1966
Year
Wine ConsumptionHydrocortisone ContentMedicinePhysiologyForensic ToxicologyBlood AlcoholWine TastingAlcohol ContentAlcohol AbuseAlcohol-related Liver DiseaseEndocrinologyPharmacologyAlcohol DependenceHealth Sciences
The hydrocortisone content of the blood and the alcohol content of the blood and urine were determined in 5 healthy men, 22 to 23 years old, following ingestion of 5.1 to 5.6 dl of wine containing 13% alcohol (1 g of alcohol per kg body weight) and in 5 healthy men aged 21 to 28 after consumption of 7.4 to 8.2 di of wine (1.5 g of alcohol per kg). The determinations were carried out before and every hour during 6 to 9 hr after alcohol consumption. Five healthy men aged 22 to 27 served as nondrinking controls. Following the ingestion of 1 g of alcohol per kg the mean maximum levels of blood alcohol (0.114%) and hydrocortisone (11.5 µg per 100 ml) occurred at 2 hr, then decreased gradually. They were still higher than normal at 4 hr and returned to initial values (0.014% and 8.1 µg per 100 ml) at 6 hr. One subject's blood alcohol did not return to normal at 6 hr; his blood hydrocortisone was the lowest of the five subjects, indicating a relative adrenal cortex hypofunction. Following the ingestion of 1.5 g of alcohol per kg the mean maximum blood alcohol (0.193%) occurred at 3 hr and hydrocortisone (12.4 and 12.3 µg per 100 ml) at 2 and 3 hr, then decreased gradually. The blood hydrocortisone was still higher than the initial value at 5 hr, and at 6 and 7 hr fell below the initial value, then increased and approached the initial value at 8 and 9 hr. Urine alcohol values generally followed the blood alcohol but at later times. Changes in the hourly blood hydrocortisone values were significant by Student's t-test. In the control subjects, the blood hydrocortisone levels did not change significantly during 8-hourly samples. The initial increase of the hydrocortisone content of the blood following alcohol administration is attributed to transitory enhancement of adrenocortical function whereas the subsequent decrease may be attributed to its transitory decrease. These observations are in agreement with results obtained in previous animal experiments.