Beethoven’s DNA shows that his chronic drinking led to his death

It’s an ode to DNA.

A new study sheds light on how Ludwig van Beethoven died almost 200 years ago – a mystery many have been interested in solving.

Using five strands of the German composer’s hair for a DNA analysis, scientists were able to determine that his probable death was liver failure caused by chronic drinking. They also found other contributing factors, including a genetic predisposition to liver disease and that the artist had hepatitis B.

“Especially with Beethoven, illnesses sometimes severely limited his creative work,” Axel Schmidt, one of the authors of the study and a geneticist at the University Hospital Bonn, told the Associated Press. “And for medical professionals, it has always been a mystery as to what is really behind it.”

Before his death at the age of 56 in 1827, Beethoven himself requested in 1802 that “his illness be described and published,” according to the study, published Wednesday in the journal Current Biology. The influential composer had health issues, including slow hearing loss, until he became deaf around the age of 44.

Work on the study began in 2015.

“Most people who do genetic testing for fun, including myself, will find that there is nothing wrong with them, they are related to everyone they thought they were and the results are not surprising,” said lead author Tristan Begg. “But in this study, we had intriguing results in every branch we looked at, from disease risk to pedigree.

“That was very exciting after eight years.”

According to the study, the researchers concluded that Beethoven’s deafness was not genetic, and also found that there were no genetic markers for abdominal pain, which caused a persistent sour note in the composer’s 20s.

In the summer of 1821, Beethoven was suffering from bouts of jaundice, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, causes the whites of a person’s eyes to appear yellow and may be a symptom of liver disease.

“We found that Beethoven had a genetic predisposition to liver disease,” the study continued. “Metagenomic analyzes also showed that Beethoven had been infected with hepatitis B at least in the months before his death.”

The study goes on to say that Beethoven’s alcohol consumption in 1827 led to his death from cirrhosis, among other factors.

The research also suggested that Beethoven’s family tree may have had a child born from an affair, according to the AP.

“We hope that by making Beethoven’s genome publicly available to researchers, and perhaps adding more authenticated locks to the initial chronological series, remaining questions about his health and genealogy can one day be answered,” concluded Begg.