UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: Planning to Party on New Year's Eve?

Keywords: alcohol, hangover (PubMed Search)

Posted: 12/30/2015 by Jon Mark Hirshon, PhD, MPH, MD
Click here to contact Jon Mark Hirshon, PhD, MPH, MD

In many countries, alcohol is commonly drunk for special occasions, such as New Year’s. What can be the consequences of drinking too much?

As noted in an article on the validation of the Dutch version of the brief young adult alcohol consequences questionnaire, the most common consequences were:

Had a hangover: 74.3%
Had less energy or felt tired because of my drinking: 63.9%
While drinking, I have said or done embarrassing things: 38.0%
Felt very sick to my stomach or thrown up after drinking: 34.1%
Ended up drinking on nights when I planned not to drink: 29.2%
Not gone to work or missed classes because of drinking: 28.0%
Not been able to remember large stretches of time: 26.8%
Taken foolish risks: 24.7%
Quality of my work or school work has suffered: 21.7%
When drinking, I have done impulsive things I regretted later: 21.4%

According to the Alcohol Hangover Research Group Consensus Statement on Best Practice in Alcohol Hangover Research, items 1, 2, 4, 6 and 9 are or may be related to hangovers.

Have an enjoyable, but safe New Year.

References

Validation of the Dutch version of the brief young adult alcohol consequences questionnaire (B-YAACQ). Verster JC, van Herwijnen J, Olivier B, Kahler CW. Addict Behav. 2009 May;34(5):411-4. Epub 2007 Sep 29.

The alcohol hangover research group consensus statement on best practice in alcohol hangover research. Verster JC, Stephens R, Penning R, Rohsenow D, McGeary J, Levy D, McKinney A, Finnigan F, Piasecki TM, Adan A, Batty GD, Fliervoet LA, Heffernan T, Howland J, Kim DJ, Kruisselbrink LD, Ling J, McGregor N, Murphy RJ, van Nuland M, Oudelaar M, Parkes A, Prat G, Reed N, Slutske WS, Smith G, Young M; Alcohol Hangover Research Group. Curr Drug Abuse Rev. 2010 Jun;3(2):116-26.