Feeling hungry after just one glass of wine? That’s 40 – or rather, 44.
Recent research from Stanford University suggests that people age dramatically between the ages of 44 and 60. These major molecular changes within the body can lead to declines in immune system regulation, kidney function, and the ability to metabolize alcohol and caffeine.
This comes as no surprise to middle-aged people who feel a headache as they signal the bartender. But while anecdotal evidence suggests hangovers get worse over time, there’s a lot scientists still don’t know about the mechanisms behind hangovers and whether age has an effect.
“I actually went and checked the literature on this,” Dr. Daniel Puleston, an assistant professor of immunology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “There’s not a lot—we really haven’t done a lot of research on the relationship of hangover severity with age.”
Puleston said scientific studies on hangovers are difficult to conduct — they are difficult to measure and recreate because they rely on subjective, self-reported information, such as how a person “feels.”
“We don’t have a good understanding of the causal factors that trigger hangovers, but we do know some — like blood alcohol content and the amount of time alcohol stays in the blood,” Puleston explained. “The presence of inflammatory markers in the blood has also been linked to hangover severity, suggesting that the immune system also plays a role.”
When you drink a beer, your stomach and small intestine metabolize some of the alcohol, but your liver breaks down most of it.
Research shows that as we age, liver function declines, our bodies hold less water and we lose muscle mass, which can mean a higher concentration of alcohol remains in our bloodstream.
But Puleston suggests that it may not be our ability to break down alcohol, but our response to this process that affects the severity of a hangover.
Alcohol metabolism generates reactive oxidants that can cause tissue damage and inflammation, and our antioxidant systems become less efficient as we age, Puleston said.
Higher levels of inflammatory proteins in the blood have also been linked to more severe hangovers. Older people are more likely to have low-grade chronic inflammation, a condition known as “inflammation.”
Biological processes aside, research suggests that how drunk someone feels — called “subjective intoxication” — is a better predictor of hangover severity than the number of beers and blood alcohol concentration.
One study found that hangover severity actually declines with age, even when accounting for the amount of alcohol consumed, possibly because drinkers become more tolerant of alcohol and less sensitive to pain as they get older.
But others may struggle with hangovers as they approach middle age because they don’t drink as often, or have a medical condition or take medication that makes them more sensitive to alcohol.
The Stanford findings come on the heels of research challenging the long-held notion that light to moderate drinking can be good for you. Some experts say that any alcohol is a health hazard.
“I think we’re learning a lot more about alcohol, how it can be more harmful than we realize,” Dr. Maria Torroella Carney, professor of medicine and chief of geriatric medicine and palliative care at Northwell Health. “Moderation used to be okay, but there’s more evidence to suggest it may be more harmful to the brain and cells.”
However, limiting alcohol, or avoiding it altogether, can be easier said than done.
“Alcohol and wine can have social advantages. It brings people together. You can celebrate, you can enjoy, but you really have to be respectful of how it can be harmful,” Torroella Carney said.
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