CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 87Alcohol Consumption and Health EffectsSubstance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesAlcoholism and Thiamine Deficiency

Interventions for preventing or treating alcohol hangover: systematic review of randomised controlled trials

Open access
Pittler, Max H, Verster, Joris C, Ernst, Edzard·2005·BMJ
DOI 10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1515PMC PMC1322250
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical evidence on the effectiveness of any medical intervention for preventing or treating alcohol hangover. DATA SOURCES: Systematic searches on Medline, Embase, Amed, Cochrane Central, the National Research Register (UK), and ClincalTrials.gov (USA); hand searches of conference proceedings and bibliographies; contact with experts and manufacturers of commercial preparations. Language of publication was not restricted. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: All randomised controlled trials of any medical intervention for preventing or treating alcohol hangover were included. Trials were considered if they were placebo controlled or controlled against a comparator intervention. Titles and abstracts of identified articles were read and hard copies were obtained. The selection of studies, data extraction, and validation were done independently by two reviewers. The Jadad score was used to evaluate methodological quality. RESULTS: Fifteen potentially relevant trials were identified. Seven publications failed to meet all inclusion criteria. Eight randomised controlled trials assessing eight different interventions were reviewed. The agents tested were propranolol, tropisetron, tolfenamic acid, fructose or glucose, and the dietary supplements Borago officinalis (borage), Cynara scolymus (artichoke), Opuntia ficus-indica (prickly pear), and a yeast based preparation. All studies were double blind. Significant intergroup differences for overall symptom scores and individual symptoms were reported only for tolfenamic acid, gamma linolenic acid from B officinalis, and a yeast based preparation. CONCLUSION: No compelling evidence exists to suggest that any conventional or complementary intervention is effective for preventing or treating alcohol hangover. The most effective way to avoid the symptoms of alcohol induced hangover is to practise abstinence or moderation.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1515

Cites

2 of 2 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • There is nothing special about the head and heat loss.

    “A more recent study confirms that there is nothing special about the head and heat loss.21”

    From Festive medical myths (2008) · cites this paper as [21]

    The Conclusions (page unavailable) address interventions for alcohol hangover, not heat loss from the head. Searches for head heat loss and body-temperature comparisons found no passage in our copy addressing the claim. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 35

  1. Wiese JG, Shlipak MG, Browner WS. The alcohol hangover. Ann Intern Med 2000;132:897-902.
  2. Becker J. The alcohol hangover. Ann Intern Med 2001;134:533-4.
  3. Crofton J. Extent and costs of alcohol problems in employment: a review of British data. Alcohol Alcohol 1987;22:321-5.
  4. Pincock S. Binge drinking on rise in UK and elsewhere: government report shows increases in alcohol consumption, cirrhosis, and premature deaths. Lancet 2003;362:1126-7.
  5. Holland P, Mushinski M. Costs of alcohol and drug abuse in the United States, 1992. Stat Bull Metrop Insur Co 1999;80:2-9.
  6. Vahtera J, Poikalinen K, Kivimäki M, Ala-Mursula L, Pentti J. Alcohol intake and sickness absence: a curvilinear relation. Am J Epidemiol 2002;156:969-76.
  7. Kim D-J, Yoon S-J, Lee H-P, Choi B-M, Go HJ. The effects of alcohol hangover on cog- nitive functions in healthy subjects. Int J Neurosci 2003;113:581-94.
  8. Verster JC, van Duin D, Volkerts ER, Schreuder AHCML, Verbaten MN. Alcohol hangover effects on memory functioning and vigilance performance after an evening of binge drinking. Neuropsychopharmacology 2003;28:740-6.
  9. 9 Calder I. Hangovers. BMJ 1997;314:2-3.
  10. Wechsler H, Lee JE, Kuo M, Lee H. College binge drinking in the 1990s: a continuing problem. J Am Coll Health 2000;48:199-210.
  11. White IR, Altmann DR, Nanchahal K. Alcohol consumption and mortality: modelling risks for men and women at different ages. BMJ 2002;325:191-4.
  12. Seppä K, Sillanaukee P. Binge drinking and ambulatory blood pressure. Hypertension 1999;33:79-82.
  13. Poikolainen K, Leppänen K, Vuori E. Alcohol sales and fatal alcohol poisonings: a time-series analysis. Addiction 2002;97:1037-40.
  14. Jadad AR, Moore RA, Carroll D, Jenkinson C, Reynolds DJ, Gavaghan DJ, et al. Assess- ing the quality of reports of randomized clinical trials: is blinding necessary? Control Clin Trials 1996;17:1-12.
  15. Khan MA, Jensen K, Krogh HJ. Alcohol-induced hangover: a double-blind comparison of pyritinol and placebo in preventing hangover symptoms. Q J Stud Alcohol 1973;34:1195-201.
  16. Chauhan BL, Kulkarni RD. Alcohol hangover and Liv.52. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 1991;40:187-8.
  17. Myrsten AL, Rydberg U, Idestrom CM, Lamble R. Alcohol intoxication and hangover: modification of hangover by chlormethiazole. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 1980;69:117-25.
  18. Goldberg L, Wayne Jones A, Neri A. Effects of a sugar mixture on ethanol-induced impairments of performance and behavior in man. Blutalkohol 1979;16:439-52
  19. Sumi H, Yatagai C, Wada H, Yoshida E, Maruyama M. Effect of Bacillus natto-fermented product (BIOZYME) on blood alcohol, aldehyde concentrations after whisky drinking in human volunteers, and acute toxicity of acetaldehyde in mice. Arukoru Kenkyuto Yakubutsu Ison 1995;30:69-79.
  20. Seppälä T, Leino T, Linnoila M, Huttunen M, Ylikahri R. Effects of hangover on psychomotor skills related to driving: modification by fructose and glucose. Acta Phar- macol Toxicol (Copenh) 1976;38:209-18.
  21. Streufert S, Pogash R, Braig D, Gingrich D, Kantner A, Landis R, et al. Alcohol hango- ver and managerial effectiveness. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 1995;19:1141-6.
  22. Pittler MH, White AR, Stevinson C, Ernst E. Effectiveness of artichoke extract in preventing alcohol-induced hangovers: a randomized controlled trial. CMAJ 2003;169:1269-73.
  23. Wiese J, McPherson S, Odden MC, Shlipak MG. Effect of Opuntia ficus indica on symptoms of the alcohol hangover. Arch Intern Med 2004;164:1334-40.
  24. Laas I. A double-blind placebo-controlled study on the effects of Morning Fit on hangover symptoms after a high level of alcohol consumption in healthy volunteers. J Clin Res 1999;2:9-15.
  25. Muhonen T, Jokelainen K, Höök-Nikanne J, Methuen T, Salaspuro M. Tropisetron and hangover. Addict Biol 1997;2:461-2.
  26. Bogin RM, Nostrant TT, Young MJ. Propranolol for the treatment of the alcoholic hangover. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 1987;13:175-80.
  27. Kaivola S, Parantainen J, Osterman T, Timonen H. Hangover headache and prostaglandins: prophylactic treatment with tolfenamic acid. Cephalalgia 1983;3:31-6.
  28. Ylikahri RH, Leino T, Huttunen MO, Poso AR, Eriksson CJ, Nikkila. Effects of fructose and glucose on ethanol-induced metabolic changes and on the intensity of alcohol intoxication and hangover. Eur J Clin Invest 1976;6:93-102.
  29. Schmidt K, Ernst E. Assessing websites on complementary and alternative medicine for cancer. Ann Oncol 2004;15:733-42.
  30. Slutske WS, Piasecki TM, Hunt-Carter EE. Development and initial validation of the hangover symptoms scale: prevalence and correlates of hangover symptoms in college students. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2003;27:1442-50.
  31. Anonymous. Cactus eases hangover sting. BMJ 2004;329:10.
  32. Kim D-J, Kim W, Yoon S-J, Choi B-M, Kim J-S, Go HJ, et al. Effects of alcohol hangover on cytokine production in healthy subjects. Alcohol 2003;31:167-70.
  33. Egger M, Davey Smith G. Bias in location and selection of studies. BMJ 1998;316:61-6.
  34. Ernst E, Pittler MH. Alternative therapy bias. Nature 1997;385:480.
  35. Pittler MH, Abbot NC, Harkness EF, Ernst E. Location bias in controlled clinical trials of complementary/alternative therapies. J Clin Epidemiol 2000;53:485-9.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Pittler, M. H., Verster, J. C., & Ernst, E.
Affiliations
  • University of Exeter (GB)
  • Utrecht University (NL)
Corresponding author
Pittler, Max H
ORCID
Verster, Joris C
Venue
BMJ
Publisher
BMJ
Published
2005-12-22
Volume
331
Issue
7531
Pages
1515-1518
ISSN
  • 0007-1447 (ISSN-L)
  • 0959-8138
  • 1468-5833
DOI
10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1515
PMC
PMC1322250
OpenAlex
W2158037384
Cited by
87
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 7
FWCI
0.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.bmj.org/licenses/tdm/1.0/terms-and-conditions.html (tdm)
Locations
  • BMJ (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Alcoholism and Thiamine Deficiency
Keywords
hangover, propranolol, tropisetron, tolfenamic acid, fructose, glucose, Borago officinalis, artichoke, Opuntia ficus-indica, gamma-linolenic acid, dietary supplements, alcohol abstinence, alcohol moderation
MeSH terms
Alcoholic Intoxication, Complementary Therapies, Humans, Substance Withdrawal Syndrome, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review