HANGOVER: The Pesky Hanger-on

Alcohol can affect cardiac, neurological, and psychiatric functioning.
By Connie Lauerman
Chicago Tribune

Think twice before tying one on. The effects are worse than the morning-after throbbing head, queasiness, fatigue, and dry mouth. Alcohol hangovers have cardiac, neurological, and psychiatric consequences, according to a review of 33 years of medical studies of alcohol intoxication published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. A hangover increases blood pressure and the heart rate, and in one study, it wasassociated with cardiac death.

Visual and spatial skills and dexterity are impaired, even after alcohol can no longer be detected in the blood, putting imbibers at risk for injury and death. Depression and other psychological disorders are more common in those with hangovers. Despite their prevalence, hangovers are only partially understood by scientists. One theory is that a hangover is the first stage of alcohol withdrawal. But Dr. Michael G. Shlipak, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, one of the authors of the study, says.

That hormone and chemical alterations make a hangover distinct. Shlipak also speculates that a hangover causes an inflammatory reaction in the body, possibly leading to the fly-like symptoms. Although larger doses of alcohol lead to the more severe symptoms, other factors also contribute to the malaise. Congeners (substances found in brandy, whisky, and other dark liquors) increase the frequency and severity of hangovers. But a hangover is a sure bet for 175-pound men who consume five to six drinks and 130-pound women who down three to five drinks.