MAST Scores, Alcohol Consumption, and Gynecological Symptoms in Endometriosis Patients

Abstract

Alcohol consumption (quantity, frequency, and pattern) and alcohol-related problems were determined in endometriosis patients (n = 137), patients with other gynecological disorders (n = 91), and normal control subjects (n = 98). Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, including the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), questions to determine the quantity and frequency of alcohol use, and questions regarding the relationship between gynecological symptoms and alcohol intake. The percentage of endometriosis patients with MAST scores greater than five or seven was significantly greater than that of normal control subjects (p = 0.045 and p = 0.009, respectively), but did not differ from that for patients with other gynecological disorders. Endometriosis patients with high MAST scores (> or = 5) tended to consume more alcohol on a yearly basis than normal control subjects with high MAST scores (p = 0.07). Among participants who experienced gynecological symptoms and were not abstainers, 31% of endometriosis patients, 9.5% of normal control subjects, and 14.3% of patients with other gynecological disorders reported increasing their alcohol consumption when experiencing gynecological symptoms. Endometriosis patients tended to differ in this regard from normal control subjects (p = 0.058) and were significantly different from patients with other gynecological disorders (p = 0.039). The evidence suggests that the gynecological problems of endometriosis may be a major medical correlative of alcoholism in women.