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Ovarian Hormones, Menstrual Cycle Phase, and Smoking: a Review with Recommendations for Future Studies

  • Tobacco (AH Weinberger, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Cigarette smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality. Similar to other addictive substances, the prevalence of cigarette smoking is greater among men than women, yet women are less successful at quitting smoking. Preclinical and clinical research suggests that ovarian hormones (i.e., estradiol and progesterone), which fluctuate over the course of the menstrual cycle, may contribute to these sex differences. Specifically, research suggests that progesterone may protect against cigarette smoking and nicotine addiction, whereas estradiol may underlie enhanced vulnerability. In this review, we discuss new research on ovarian hormone and menstrual cycle phase effects on smoking-related responses and behavior in women, including studies examining neural responses to smoking cues, hormonal influences on medication-assisted smoking cessation, and acute smoking abstinence. We highlight innovative studies with strong research methodology and provide suggestions for future research that may allow evidence-based knowledge for immediate translation to the clinic to guide novel, hormonally informed treatment strategies. Thus, rigorous scientific study holds the potential to reduce relapse rates, thus improving the health and saving the lives of the many thousands of women who unfortunately do not respond to current treatments.

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Acknowledgments

Reagan R. Wetherill would like to gratefully acknowledge the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse grants (R01DA030394 and R01DA029845 awarded to Teresa R. Franklin; R01DA008075 and R21DA034840 awarded to Sharon S. Allen) and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism grant (K23AA023894 awarded to Reagan R. Wetherill), in support of writing this manuscript.

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Correspondence to Reagan R. Wetherill.

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Reagan R. Wetherill, Teresa R. Franklin, and Sharon Allen declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with animal subjects performed by any of the authors. All studies conducted by the authors using human subjects were in accordance with each author’s respective institution IRB standards. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Wetherill, R.R., Franklin, T.R. & Allen, S.S. Ovarian Hormones, Menstrual Cycle Phase, and Smoking: a Review with Recommendations for Future Studies. Curr Addict Rep 3, 1–8 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-016-0093-z

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