Not everyone experiences terrible hangovers. But for those of us who do, research shows that the genes we inherit from our parents partly explain how often we experience them and our chances of getting one.
The aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene plays an important role in alcohol metabolism. While everyone has this gene, some people carry a variant that can affect how strongly they react to alcohol.
Genes don’t tell the whole story, however. A study of 761 Dutch people showed that, contrary to popular belief, hangover frequency and severity decrease with age. What’s more, factors like your mental resilience and mood are also associated with your experience of hangovers.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Hirill Jerdev, via email) 'Are hangovers hereditary?'
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