Immune Fitness and the Psychosocial and Health Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown in The Netherlands: Methodology and Design of the CLOFIT Study.

This article provides an overview of the design and methodology of the "Corona lockdown: how fit are you?" (CLOFIT) study, including the questionnaires and scales that were included in the online survey. The aim of the CLOFIT study was to investigate the psychosocial and health consequences of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the Netherlands. The survey was conducted among the Dutch population to collect data on immune fitness and the psychological and health consequences of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic lockdown in the Netherlands. The CLOFIT dataset contains measures from N = 1910 participants and is broadly representative of the Dutch general population. The dataset represents both sexes, a range of ages including the elderly, different education levels, and ethnic backgrounds. The cohort also includes people with a diverse health status and range of medication use.

Alcohol Hangover Across the Lifespan: Impact Of Sex and Age.

AIM: To investigate the relationship between age and hangover frequency and severity. METHOD: An online survey, generated through Facebook, collected self-report data relating to alcohol consumption from 761 Dutch alcohol consumers aged 18-94 years (61.6% female). RESULTS: Overall, young individuals consumed more alcohol than older drinkers, and men more than women. Significant interactions between age group and sex were found for both subjective intoxication and hangover severity, indicating that the sex differences in these variables were greatest in the younger age groups but became significantly smaller or absent in the older age groups. Partial correlations, correcting for estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC), revealed significant and negative partial correlations between age and subjective intoxication (r = -0.444, P < 0.0001), age and hangover severity (r = -0.327, P < 0.0001) and between age and hangover frequency (r = -0.195, P < 0.0001), i.e. subjective intoxication, hangover severity and hangover frequency decline with age. With regard to sex differences, the observed correlations with age for the past month heaviest drinking occasion were stronger in men for subjective intoxication, (z = -2.25, P = 0.024), hangover severity (z = -3.36, P = 0.0008) and hangover frequency (z = -3.63, P = 0.0003). CONCLUSIONS: Hangover severity declines with age, even after controlling for eBAC or the amount of alcohol consumed. Sex differences were greatest in the younger age groups but became significantly smaller or absent in the older age groups. The relationship between age and hangover severity is strongly mediated by subjective intoxication. Pain sensitivity, lower with aging, might be a mediator.

The Relationship between Pain Sensitivity, Pain Catastrophizing and Hangover Severity.

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.