Nobody likes an angry drunk.
Shame they’re going to outlive us all.
According to a new study from the University of Helsinki, a genetic mutation that makes certain people “more likely to behave impulsively while intoxicated” can also shield that same rowdy drinker from obesity and diabetes. The study, recently published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, was conducted with 98 Finnish men between the ages of 25-30 who were diagnosed with an antisocial personality disorder.
The gist of the findings: a point mutation in a gene of serotonin 2B receptor that leads people to impulsive behavior (especially when drunk) could also shield the bearer from obesity and insulin resistance — both associated with type 2 diabetes.
“We could speculate that the compound effect the mutation and testosterone have on energy metabolism may have been beneficial in the cool, nutrition-poor environment after the Ice Age, particularly for men with a high physiological level of testosterone — they would have survived with a lower calorie intake,” says Dr. Roope Tikkanen, who led the study. “Simultaneously, the aggression associated with high levels of testosterone may have helped them compete for food.”
What it means for you: if you’re like the 2.2 percent of the Finnish population with this mutation, you have one more excuse not to apologize the next morning.
But also: we can think of happier ways to drink.
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