新奇事件簿 没有孩子或将导致早死

A new report says that women who do not have children may die earlier than those who do. Researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark looked at over 21,000 couples between 1994 and 2005. They all tried to have children, without success. The women all went to special clinics for IVF treatment a technique where doctors fertilize¹ the woman's egg in a laboratory². The researchers said that women who could not have children were four times likelier than mothers to die early. Some doctors have said the report might cause childless women to worry about dying³ early. The truth is there is a very small risk of an early death. Just 316 women died during the 11-year study. Very few of those died earlier than average.

最新报告显示，没有孩子的女性要比有孩子的女性寿命短。从1994-2005年间，来自丹麦奥胡斯大学的研究人员对2.1万名夫妻进行了研究。他们都希望拥有自己的孩子，但都没能成功。他们全部进行了体外受精的试管婴儿治疗。研究人员认为比起母亲来说，没有孩子的女性早死几率或将是前者的四倍。许多医生认为，这份报告或将让不孕女性担心自己会早死亡。然而事实是早死的可能性非常小。在为期11年的研究中，只有316名女性死亡。不到平均年龄而死亡的人数更是少之又少。

One critic of the report said the study was very misleading. Dr Ingrid Collins, a psychologist, told the BBC: "This is a very specific situation of people who are trying to have children. The study's findings⁴ cannot be used to talk about the whole general population." She added: "People having IVF tend to be desperate for a child. If they are unsuccessful, they may be depressed⁵. It may be this depression rather than the childlessness that causes an earlier death." Another psychologist, Dr Helen Nightingale, agreed, saying: "Being childless without a doubt reduces your fight for life.The support of a family, the focus on your children and grandchildren, and the desire to watch how they turn out drives your will to survive."

报告评论员认为这项研究存在误导性。心理学家英格里德·柯林斯博士对BBC称：“对于那些想要孩子的女性来说，这样的情况太过具体。研究发现并不能涵盖所有女性。”她补充道：“对于那些接受试管婴儿的女性来说，她们对孩子是一种渴望。如果她们没能成功，那么她们会变得郁郁寡欢。比起没孩子的痛苦，抑郁症也会导致早死。”心理学家海伦·南丁格尔医生同意此观点，称：“毋庸置疑，没有孩子必然会减少女性对于生活的期望。家庭的支持，对儿孙的关注，以及对他们未来的展望都会激励你生的希望。”

1 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

2 laboratory   

n.实验室，化验室

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a laboratory.她捐款成立了一个实验室。
• Our laboratory equipment isn't perfect,but we must make do.实验室设备是不够理想，但我们只好因陋就简。

3 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

4 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

5 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。