The relationship between pain sensitivity, pain catastrophizing and hangover severity

Saeed, HM; Sips, ASM; Owen, LJ; Verster, JC

Abstract

Recent research found a significant and positive correlation between hangover severity and pain catastrophizing. The current study aimed to verify these findings. Data from N = 673 subjects with a mean (SD) age of 42.2 (19.1) years old (range: 18 to 87 years old) was evaluated. An online survey collected data on alcohol consumption and hangovers related to their heaviest drinking occasion between 15 January and 14 March 2020. When correcting for the amount of alcohol consumed, significant correlations were found between hangover severity and both sensitivity to pain (r = 0.085, p = 0.029) and pain catastrophizing (r = 0.095, p = 0.015). In addition, subjective intoxication correlated significantly with sensitivity to pain (r = 0.080, p = 0.041) and pain catastrophizing (r = 0.099, p = 0.011). Overall, the results were more pronounced in men than women, and the associations with pain catastrophizing were strongest for the subscale assessing rumination. In conclusion, although statistically significant, the observed correlations were of small magnitude. Nevertheless, the observations confirm previous findings that suggest a link between pain perception, alcohol consumption, and hangover severity, which warrants further investigation.

Citation

Saeed, H., Sips, A., Owen, L., & Verster, J. (2021). The relationship between pain sensitivity, pain catastrophizing and hangover severity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), e2047. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18042047

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 9, 2021
• Publication Date: Feb 19, 2021
• Deposit Date: Feb 23, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2021
• Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Publisher: MDPI
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 4
• Pages: e2047
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18042047
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18042047
• Related Public URLs: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
• Additional Information: Additional Information : ** From MDPI via Jisc Publications Router ** Licence for this article: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ **Journal IDs: eissn 1660-4601 **History: published 19-02-2021; accepted 09-02-2021