PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Older drinkers may experience fewer hangovers due to less intense drinking

2013-09-13
(Press-News.org) Contact: Janne S. Tolstrup, Ph.D.
jst@si-folkesundhed.dk
45-3532-6438
University of Southern Denmark

Jonathan Howland, Ph.D., M.P.H, M.P.A.
jhowl@bu.edu
617-638-5158
Boston University School of Medicine

Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Older drinkers may experience fewer hangovers due to less intense drinking While hangovers may be a source of humor, their effects can be debilitating, costly, and even dangerous. A new study of hangovers across the lifespan has found that the tendency to experience hangovers decreases as age increases. Study authors speculate that older adults who binge drink do so to a lesser intensity than younger adults.

Many people are familiar with the uncomfortable morning-after symptoms of excessive drinking, commonly known as a hangover. While it is a common phenomenon, little is known about hangover differences across the lifespan. A study of hangovers across adulthood has found their severity depends on age.

Results will be published in the February 2014 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

"While it is true that a hangover is mostly referred to in a humorous way, we could also say they are the most frequent alcohol-related morbidity," said Janne S. Tolstrup, a research program director at the University of Southern Denmark as well as corresponding author for the study. "Millions of Euros are wasted each year due to absence from work caused by hangovers. Also there is some evidence that hangovers, rather then being a natural curb on excessive drinking, may actually be a gateway into alcoholism."

"The etiology of the hangover is not understood, so … a better understanding of what causes a hangover might further illuminate the physiology of alcohol," added Jonathan Howland, a professor of emergency medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine, and director of the Boston Medical Center Injury Prevention Center. "It appears as though not everyone is equally susceptible to hangovers, and it is possible that resistance to hangovers plays a role in the development of drinking problems. Furthermore, neurocognitive impairment such as attention/reaction time appears to be a residual next-day effect of intoxication in the presence of a hangover, but not in the absence of a hangover. This could have implications for occupational performance and safety."

"This is the only really large population-based study that has included information on hangovers," said Tolstrup. "While there have been tens of thousands of studies on the more direct effects of alcohol, there have only been fewer than 200 published papers on the hangover. Added to this, to date hangover studies have focused almost exclusively on young adults with no previous studies including adults aged beyond their 30s. This paper rectifies that with its very large sample size of 50,000 individuals, including 30,000 older than the age of 40, and makes a major contribution to understanding hangover across the lifespan. We plan to use this information for prospective studies on whether individuals who experience hangovers have a different risk for having alcohol-related diseases than individuals who do not experience hangovers."

Tolstrup and her colleagues used 2007 and 2008 information gathered by the Danish Health Examination Survey (DANHES), an Internet-based health survey that asked participants about their diet, smoking, alcohol and physical activity. Analysis was performed on data provided by 51,645 individuals (24,118 males, 27,527 women) 18 to 94 years of age living in 13 municipalities in Denmark.

"We found that the tendency to have hangovers decreased by increasing age," said Tolstrup. "The first explanation that pops up is that this finding would be due to differences in drinking pattern in different age groups. However, trying to account for such differences as much as we could, did not even out the differences in hangover tendency. In other words, while it is true that older individuals on average binge-drink less often than younger individuals, we did not find in our data that results were due to differences in drinking patterns."

"Although the association between amount of alcohol consumed and the likelihood of hangover was well established before this paper," added Howland, "the details of this relationship are relatively unexplored. In other words, an individual consuming a given amount of alcohol might get a hangover on one occasion, but not another."

"It is important to note that we did not assess intensity of binge drinking, just frequency," added Richard Stephens, a senior lecturer in psychology at Keele University and co-author of the study. "Given what we know about drinking patterns across the lifespan, it's likely that our younger drinkers' binges would have been of greater intensity, involving more alcohol, than those of our older drinkers, even though the average weekly consumption was about the same. This is one possible explanation of the reduced hangover incidence with increasing age that we found.

Tolstrup added that these findings are particularly relevant for younger drinkers. "From a medical point of view, binge drinking is never a good idea," he cautioned. "A low to moderate alcohol intake is shown to have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, especially among mid-aged individuals. Some research indicates that this beneficial effect is reversed if the alcohol is taken in binges.

"Hangovers predominantly affect younger, less experienced drinkers," said Stephens. "Younger drinkers in their late teens and 20s are several times more likely to get a hangover than older, more experienced drinkers. In light of links between hangover and risk of alcoholism, younger drinkers should beware."

### Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (ACER) is the official journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism. Co-authors of the ACER paper, "Does the severity of hangovers decline with age? Survey of the incidence of hangover in different age groups," were Janne S. Tolstrup and Morten M. Grønbæk of the National Institute of Public Health at the University of Southern Denmark. This release is supported by the Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network at http://www.ATTCnetwork.org.

Add'l contact: Richard Stephens, M.D.
r.stephens@keele.ac.uk
44.1782.7.33600 (United Kingdom)
Keele University END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Sober drinking knowledge often fails 'in the moment' of intoxication

2013-09-13
Contact: Denis M. McCarthy, Ph.D. mccarthydm@missouri.edu 573-882-0426 University of Missouri Mark B. Johnson, Ph.D. mjohnson@PIRE.org 301-755-2700 Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Sober drinking knowledge often fails 'in the moment' of intoxication Approximately one-third of all fatal crashes each year in the U.S. involve an alcohol-impaired driver. New research compares individuals' perceived dangerousness of driving after drinking while intoxicated with those perceptions while sober. Results ...

Individuals with a dual diagnosis can benefit from 12-step programs too

2013-09-13
Contact: Brandon G. Bergman, Ph.D. bgbergman@partners.org 617-643-7563 Massachusetts General Hospital Christine Timko, Ph.D. ctimko@stanford.edu 650-617-2746 Department of Veterans Affairs Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Individuals with a dual diagnosis can benefit from 12-step programs too Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) can play an important role in addiction recovery. A new study examines the suitability of 12-step organizations for young adults with co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders, referred ...

Better verbal development during childhood linked to later drinking and intoxication

2013-09-13
Contact: Antti Latvala, Ph.D. antti.latvala@helsinki.fi 358-9-19127224 University of Helsinki Michael Windle, Ph.D. e-mwindle@emory.edu 404-727-9868 Emory University Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Better verbal development during childhood linked to later drinking and intoxication Previous research has found contradictory linkages among cognition, verbal skills, and later alcohol use. A new study has found that better verbal development during childhood predicts more frequent drinking and intoxication during adolescence and young ...

Genetic variant linked with kidney failure in diabetic women but not men

2013-09-13
Washington, DC (September 12, 2013) — A genetic variant on chromosome 2 is strongly linked with kidney failure in diabetic women but not in men, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The findings may help explain gender-specific differences in kidney failure, as well as why some diabetic women are prone to develop kidney failure. Worldwide, more than 370 million people have diabetes, which is the leading cause of kidney failure, or end stage renal disease. Within the non-diabetic population, women ...

Younger women with type 2 diabetes face higher risk of heart disease

2013-09-13
Type 2 diabetes independently increases the risk of heart disease in premenopausal women, according to a study presented at the American Heart AssociationHigh Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2013. Researchers studied 1,256 Argentine premenopausal and menopausal women with and without type 2 diabetes, ages 19 to 84, who underwent ultrasound imaging to measure plaque in their carotid arteries, the major artery running down the neck. Regardless of their age, family history, smoking history, having high blood pressure or menopausal status, plaque buildup was more ...

Testing child's urine may help doctors identify risk for high blood pressure

2013-09-13
Measuring sodium in a child's urine may help doctors identify those at risk for having high blood pressure later in life, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2013. In a small study, researchers used a new protocol to quickly screen 19 children who were 10-19-year-olds. Researchers found that of the eight who retained sodium seven had high blood pressure. The inability to properly excrete sodium in the body can occur during stress, such as when kids get nervous while in a doctor's office, so ...

High blood pressure reading in kids linked to triple risk for condition as adults

2013-09-13
Children with one or more high blood pressure readings were about three times more likely to develop the condition as adults, in a study presented at the American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2013. After accounting for age, gender and weight, researchers found a direct link between high blood pressure readings during childhood and high blood pressure in adulthood: The rate of high blood pressure during adulthood was 8.6 percent among those who didn't have high readings as children. The rate rose to 18 percent among those who ...

Childhood obesity may quadruple high blood pressure risk in adulthood

2013-09-13
Obese children quadruple their risk and overweight children double their risk of developing high blood pressure in adulthood, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2013. Researchers tracked the growth and blood pressure of 1,117 healthy adolescents from Indianapolis for 27 years, starting in 1986, and found: During childhood, 68 percent of the kids were a normal weight, 16 percent were overweight and 16 percent were obese. As adults, 119 of the participants were diagnosed with high blood pressure. Six ...

Molecular structure reveals how HIV infects cells

2013-09-13
SHANGHAI, CHINA, AND LA JOLLA, CA – In a long-awaited finding, a team of Chinese and US scientists has determined the high-resolution atomic structure of a cell-surface receptor that most strains of HIV use to get into human immune cells. The researchers also showed where maraviroc, an HIV drug, attaches to cells and blocks HIV's entry. "These structural details should help us understand more precisely how HIV infects cells, and how we can do better at blocking that process with next-generation drugs," said Beili Wu, PhD, professor at the Shanghai Institute of Materia ...

Ready for its close-up: 1 of HIV's entrance points

2013-09-13
Scientists have gotten the first close look at one of two co-receptors HIV uses to get its foot in the door of the immune system, a new study reports. Their insights could lead to better HIV drugs. CCR5, a receptor on the surface of human cells, is one of two main entry points the HIV virus uses to initiate its attack on the human immune system; by binding to it, an HIV protein can fuse to the cell membrane beneath, ultimately digging its way inside the cell. The other receptor that HIV uses to perform this feat is CXCR4. Both CCR5 and CXCR4 belong to a family of ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Reality check: making indoor smartphone-based augmented reality work

Overthinking what you said? It’s your ‘lizard brain’ talking to newer, advanced parts of your brain

Black men — including transit workers — are targets for aggression on public transportation, study shows

Troubling spike in severe pregnancy-related complications for all ages in Illinois

Alcohol use identified by UTHealth Houston researchers as most common predictor of escalated cannabis vaping among youths in Texas

Need a landing pad for helicopter parenting? Frame tasks as learning

New MUSC Hollings Cancer Center research shows how Golgi stress affects T-cells' tumor-fighting ability

#16to365: New resources for year-round activism to end gender-based violence and strengthen bodily autonomy for all

Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands

São Paulo to host School on Disordered Systems

New insights into sleep uncover key mechanisms related to cognitive function

USC announces strategic collaboration with Autobahn Labs to accelerate drug discovery

Detroit health professionals urge the community to act and address the dangers of antimicrobial resistance

3D-printing advance mitigates three defects simultaneously for failure-free metal parts 

Ancient hot water on Mars points to habitable past: Curtin study

In Patagonia, more snow could protect glaciers from melt — but only if we curb greenhouse gas emissions soon

Simplicity is key to understanding and achieving goals

Caste differentiation in ants

Nutrition that aligns with guidelines during pregnancy may be associated with better infant growth outcomes, NIH study finds

New technology points to unexpected uses for snoRNA

Racial and ethnic variation in survival in early-onset colorectal cancer

Disparities by race and urbanicity in online health care facility reviews

Exploring factors affecting workers' acquisition of exercise habits using machine learning approaches

Nano-patterned copper oxide sensor for ultra-low hydrogen detection

Maintaining bridge safer; Digital sensing-based monitoring system

A novel approach for the composition design of high-entropy fluorite oxides with low thermal conductivity

A groundbreaking new approach to treating chronic abdominal pain

ECOG-ACRIN appoints seven researchers to scientific committee leadership positions

New model of neuronal circuit provides insight on eye movement

Cooking up a breakthrough: Penn engineers refine lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies

[Press-News.org] Older drinkers may experience fewer hangovers due to less intense drinking