Genes play a part in how badly someone will suffer from a hangover after a night of drinking, The Daily Mail reported Monday.
Even though the speed at which people drink, whether they eat before drinking heavily and their personal tolerance for alcohol plays a role, a team of researchers believe a person's DNA will account for almost half of the reason as to why they are left feeling sick the morning after.
The study looked at links between the number of hangovers each person reported experiencing in a year and their genetic makeup, according to Live Science. The team studied more than 4,000 adults from the Australian Twin Registry to find an answer.
Their discovery found that genetic factors accounted for 45 percent of the difference in hangover incidences in women and 40 percent in men. The scientists also discovered that those people who had the genetic differences involved in increasing the risk of suffering a hangover also drank to excess more regularly than those who didn't have hangover genes.
Those genes, which control how often a person is hung over, may also control how frequently they drink. Researchers are hoping the findings could help contribute to research on alcohol addiction in the future as a result.
"This may be another clue to the genetics of alcoholism," study leader Wendy Slutske said, according to The Daily Mail.
She added that those who are less susceptible to a hangover might be more prone to alcohol addiction.
The participants of the study revealed how many times they had gotten drunk in the past year, along with how frequent their hangovers were. Scientists found a strong links between identical twins in the reports of hangover frequency and resistance, suggesting there are genetic similarities at play in determining if a drinker will fall victim to a hangover.
"People are different in their ability to consume alcohol without experiencing adverse consequences, such as having a hangover," Slutske said.
