Women, Menopause and Alcohol: What Does the Research Show?
Davies EL, Burton S, Monk R, Murdoch E, Pearce E, Rose AK.
Women’s alcohol use in mid-life: Identifying associations between menopause symptoms, drinking behaviour, and mental health.
Women’s Health 2025; 21: 1–19
Why This Topic Matters
The observation that many women come to review their relationship with alcohol in midlife, and especially during the period of the perimenopause, has become a common subject of popular discussion, notably in grey area drinking and sober curious communities. This interesting study, conducted by investigators from several major UK university psychology departments, seeks to put some data around the subject.
How the Study Was Conducted
Using a mixed methods cross-sectional survey approach (meaning that the survey sought quantitative and qualitative data), they used several well-validated questionnaires (including AUDIT, DMQ, mental health tools, etc.) and free text responses to map the relationship between stages of the menopause and drinking behaviour - both in terms of the amount consumed but also motivations for consumption.
Who Took Part
The survey was completed by 936 women aged 40–65 years.
Key Findings (and Important Caveats)
The results are quite dense and somewhat hampered by an excess of mathematical correlations when actual differences were numerically quite small.
However, several findings are reasonably clear, accepting that such associations in this sort of study do not indicate causation i.e. we may see differences between groups, but these are insufficient (by design) to show that the menopausal status actually caused the difference.
What the Study Found
These were that perimenopausal participants, compared to pre- or postmenopausal women, reported:
The highest levels of menopause symptoms
Negative reinforcement drinking motives (e.g. drinking to cope)
Negative mood
The lowest well-being scores
Additionally, negative reinforcement motives partially mediated the relationship between menopausal symptoms and hazardous drinking.
Qualitative findings showed that women often drank as a coping mechanism, while some avoided alcohol due to its potential to worsen menopausal symptoms.
What This Means
The authors correctly conclude that the study provides new insights into the associations between menopausal symptoms, alcohol use, and mental health in midlife women.
Although such findings are more hypothesis-generating than conclusive, they highlight the complex factors driving alcohol use and avoidance, suggesting that tailored interventions may be needed for women in midlife.
This research underscores the importance of addressing alcohol-related risks in this under-researched group, but also provides more general credibility to the notion that negative reinforcement motives are much more important than positive ones when it comes to driving problems with alcohol.
Key Takeaway
Midlife drinking is less about enjoyment… and more about coping.
Reference
Further reading available via the original publication.
Davies, E.L., Burton, S., Monk, R., Murdoch, E., Pearce, E., & Rose, A.K. (2025). Women’s alcohol use in mid-life: Identifying associations between menopause symptoms, drinking behaviour, and mental health. Women’s Health, 21, 1–19.
https://doi.org/10.1177/17455057251359767