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1st appeared
07
June 2000
Hangovers Should be
Taken More Seriously, Study Urges
Common hangovers are more
than sickening. They are dangerous and extremely costly, according
to a UCSF study.
And while the hangover
is often associated with alcoholism, most of its damage and cost is
incurred by the light-to-moderate drinker, concludes the study by
Jeffrey Wiese, MD, a UCSF general internal medicine fellow at the
VA Medical Center.
"In the medical community,
we tend to focus on alcoholics. But that's a very small number of
people, whereas being hung over is a common thing,'' he told Reuters
news.
Wiese and co-researchers
at the VAMC reviewed more than 30 years of medical reports on alcohol
to learn about hangovers. The following are some of the their findings,
which are published in the June 6 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine:
- "Although hangover
might be considered trivial -- just deserts for the overindulgent
-- it has substantial economic consequences." In the US, hangover-related
absenteeism and poor work performance costs $148 billion annually.
This averages to $2,000 per working adult in the US.
- Fifty-four percent of
all alcohol-related problems in the workplace are caused by light
drinkers, and 87% are caused by light-to-moderate drinkers. "The
primary morbidity that affects light-to-moderate drinkers is the
hangover, not the long-term consequences of alcohol, such as cirrhosis
and cardiomyopathy."
- While the classic symptoms
of hangover – headache, nausea, diarrhea and fatigue –
may be considered merely uncomfortable, the person with hangover
is at increased risk for injury. "Patients with hangover have
diminished visual-spatial skills and dexterity, even after alcohol
can no longer be detected in the blood. Impairment from hangover
has been experimentally demonstrated in pilots, people who drive
and skiers. Managerial skills and task completion are also adversely
affected."
- The prevalence of hangover
is alarming. More than 75% of men and women who have consumed alcohol
report that they have experienced hangover at least once, and 15%
experience hangovers at least monthly. "Paradoxically, hangover
is much more common in light-to-moderate drinkers (70%) than in
heavier drinkers."
- Hangover almost always
result from five to six drinks for a 175-pound man and three to
five drinks for a 130-pound woman.
- Of treatments surveyed,
only drinking fluids and taking vitamin B6 tablets seemed to reduce
hangover symptoms.
The study urges more research
into the physiology of hangovers and screening of patients for "hangover
severity."
Links:
Report
in Annals of Internal Medicine
Reuters
story
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