Women more likely to feel hung over than men.

2003 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia have developed the first scientific method for measuring a hangover, and their trial run of the method suggests that women tend to feel more hung over than men.

Hangovers hit women harder even after accounting for differences in the amount of alcohol consumed by men and women, according to Wendy Slutske, PhD, Thomas Piasecki, PhD, and graduate student Erin Hunt-Carter.

"This finding makes biological sense because women tend to weigh less and have lower percentages of total body water than do men, so they should achieve higher degrees of intoxication and, presumably, more hangover per unit alcohol," Slutske and colleagues say.

In their study of Missouri undergraduates, the researchers also found students who reported having alcohol-related problems or one or both biological parents with a history of alcohol-related problems were more likely to experience hangover symptoms after drinking.

The study was published in the September 2003 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Slutske and colleagues developed their hangover scale to more accurately identify and measure susceptibility to and frequency of hangovers, subjects they say have been neglected in alcohol studies.

"This is unfortunate because existing research suggests hangover has important consequences for both society and the individual drinker," the researchers say, citing the economic costs of workers taking days off to recover and accidental injuries and death among the ...