SCIENCE NOTEBOOK | Genetic analysis of Beethoven’s hair sheds light on his death

His health and cause of death have been the subject of debate since 1802. The team also investigated possible genetic causes of his chronic gastrointestinal complaints and a severe liver disease, most likely cirrhosis, that culminated in his death in 1827, at the age of 56. The authenticated hair samples did not reveal a simple genetic origin for Beethoven’s hearing loss or gastrointestinal complaints, but the researchers did discover a number of significant genetic risk factors for liver disease. The lead author Tristan Begg, from the University of Cambridge, said: “We can surmise from Beethoven’s ‘conversation books’, which he used during the last decade of his life, that his alcohol consumption was very regular, although it is difficult to estimate the volumes consumed. If his alcohol consumption was sufficiently heavy over a long enough period of time, the interaction with his genetic risk factors presents one possible explanation for his cirrhosis.” The research team also suggested that Beethoven’s hepatitis B infection might have driven the composer’s severe liver disease, exacerbated by his alcohol intake and genetic risk.