The Association between Ethanol Elimination Rate and Hangover Severity

Marlou Mackus, Aurora JAE van de Loo, Johan Garssen, Aletta D Kraneveld, Andrew Scholey and Joris C Verster
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Marlou Mackus: Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
Aurora JAE van de Loo: Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
Johan Garssen: Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
Aletta D Kraneveld: Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
Andrew Scholey: Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Melbourne VIC 3122, Australia
Joris C Verster: Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-9

Abstract: Assessments in blood and saliva suggests that the amount of ethanol present in the first hours after alcohol consumption and into the following morning is associated with hangover severity. The current analysis determines how ethanol elimination rate is related to hangover severity reported throughout the day. n = 8 subjects participated in two studies. The first was a naturalistic study comprising an evening of alcohol consumption. Hangover severity was assessed hourly from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., using a 1-item hangover severity scale ranging from 0 (absent) to 10 (extreme). The second study comprised a highly controlled alcohol challenge to reach a breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) of 0.05%. Breathalyzer tests were conducted every 5 min until BrAC reached zero. The ethanol elimination rate, expressed in BrAC%/hour, was computed by dividing the peak BrAC (%) by the time to BrAC of zero (h). At 11:00, 13:00, and 14:00, there were significant negative partial correlations, controlling for estimated BrAC, between ethanol elimination rate and hangover severity. The findings suggest that drinkers with a faster ethanol elimination rate experience less severe hangovers. The observations should be confirmed in a larger sample of subjects who participate in a single study that assesses both hangover severity and ethanol elimination rate.

Keywords: alcohol; hangover; severity; ethanol; elimination rate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:12:p:4324-:d:372577

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