Why do women get drunk more than men? The Spanish study that answers the question.

Women experience some subjective effects of acute alcohol consumption (such as intoxication and sedation) more intensely when it occurs over a short period of time, according to a clinical trial by the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital and Research Institute (IGTP) in Badalona , Barcelona.

The study, published in the journal ' Frontiers in Pharmacology ', is "one of the few" conducted so far that distinguishes by sex the effect of ' binge ' consumption, that is, consuming more than 4 standard drink units of alcohol in two hours in women or more than 5 in men , the hospital reported in a statement on Wednesday.

The study aimed to determine whether women experience the effects of alcohol consumption more intensely than men: until now, the same amount of alcohol is often administered to both sexes, even though women have higher blood alcohol concentrations due to factors such as pace, fat, muscle mass, hormones, or the amount of the enzyme that metabolizes alcohol.

The study, conducted from 2020 to 2022 , included 28 young people aged 18 to 25, half of them women: in different sessions and for 80 minutes, they were made to drink alcohol alone or mixed with energy drinks, among other things.

The researchers adjusted the doses so that the concentrations were identical in both women and men.

They drank 55 grams of alcohol (equivalent to just under 3 drinks) and they drank 70 (3 and a half drinks), both reaching concentrations of 0.46 mg/L , almost double the limit allowed in exhaled air in breathalyzer tests for drivers .

The researchers found that the effects were "greater" in women, especially with regard to feelings of intoxication and sedation.

In addition, participants were subjected to performance tests to simulate their driving ability : the trial failed to demonstrate that, despite being more severely affected by the subjective effects of alcohol, women's driving skills (measuring reaction time or eye-hand coordination) were worse than men's.

It has been found that energy drinks are not able to counteract the effects of alcohol , although a "good portion" of those who drink them do so in part with the intention of negating the sedation they cause.

Clara Pérez Mañá, a researcher from the Clinical Pharmacology of Substance Use Disorders group at the Igtp, said that this combination can generate " a false belief of control and security " that encourages risky decisions , such as getting behind the wheel, engaging in risky sexual behavior , or consuming other substances.

Women experience some subjective effects of acute alcohol consumption (such as intoxication and sedation) more intensely when it occurs over a short period of time, according to a clinical trial by the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital and Research Institute (IGTP) in Badalona , Barcelona.