Hangovers hurt women more

Women really do suffer from worse hangovers than men, scientists have discovered.

They have also devised the first "Richter scale" of hangovers to rate the morning-after feeling.

Symptoms used to determine the severity of a hangover range from feeling thirsty to full-blown shaking and anxiety.

The scale was used to find out which sex suffers worse the morning after a night's drinking.

Associate Professor Wendy Slutske, of the University of Missouri in Columbia, led the survey and helped develop the scale.

She said: "This finding makes biological sense, because women weigh less and have lower percentages of body water than do men, so they should achieve higher degrees of intoxication and, presumably, worse hangovers."

The study looked at 1,230 American students, who on average experienced five of the 13 symptoms-that make up a hangover. These include headaches, dehydration, trembling and shaking. The most common was thirst. A headache, nausea and fatigue were also common symptoms, typical of a 'low level' hangover.

As the hangover gets worse, so do the symptoms. Heavy drinkers shake and are unable to sleep or concentrate.

The study found that hangovers were more likely to affect people with alcohol problems or who had a parent with alcohol problems - suggesting that personal factors and inherited dispositions also affect susceptibility to drink.

The researchers said susceptibility to, and frequency of, hangovers had been neglected in alcohol studies.

"This is unfortunate because hangovers have consequences for society and the individual," said Professor Slutske. She believes the economic costs of workers taking days off to recover, and accidental injuries and death among the hangover-impaired, mean more studies should be carried out.

Lesley King-Lewis, chief executive of Action On Addiction, said: "Women are more vulnerable than men to alcohol. They get drunk faster and stay drunk longer, which increases the health risks."