VOA慢速英语2019 嗅觉好的人可能更长寿（在线收听）

Strong Sense of Smell May Be Linked to Longer Life

Older adults with a poor sense of smell may die sooner than those who have a better sense of smell, a new study suggests.

一项新的研究表明，嗅觉较差的老年人可能比嗅觉较好的老年人去世得更早一些。

The study was a project of researchers in the United States that was ongoing for over 13 years. They asked nearly 2,300 men and women to identify 12 common smells. All the subjects were from 71 to 82 years of age.

这项研究是美国研究人员进行了13年的一个项目。他们让近2300名男性和女性辨别了12种常见气味。参与研究的对象年纪均在71到82岁之间。

The researchers gave the adults scores, from zero to as high as 12, based on how many smells they identified correctly.

研究人员根据他们正确识别气味的数量，给这些成年人打分，分值从0到12分不等。

During 13 years of follow-up investigation, over 1,200 of the subjects died.

在13年的随访调查中，超过1200名受试者死亡。

When the study was launched, none of the adults were weak. They could walk a little under half a kilometer, climb 10 steps and independently complete daily activities.

在这项研究开始之初，并没有哪个老年人身体很虚弱。他们可以走不到半公里的路，爬10级的台阶，并独立完成日常活动。

In the latest findings, the researchers noted that those with a weak nose were 30 percent more likely to die by year 13 than people with a good sense of smell. The findings were reported last month in the scientific publication Annals of Internal Medicine.

在最新的研究结果中，研究人员指出，嗅觉不那么灵敏的人在研究的第13年死亡的可能性比嗅觉较好的人高30%。这些发现发表在上个月的科学出版物《内科医学年鉴》上。

Honglei Chen was the lead writer of a report on the study. He is a doctor with Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

陈宏磊（音译）是这项研究报告的主要作者。他是位于密歇根州东兰辛市的密歇根州立大学的一名医生。

Chen said the connection between a poor sense of smell and an increased risk of dying was limited to adults who first reported good-to-excellent health. This suggests that a poor sense of smell is an early and sensitive sign for worsening health before it is recognizable in medical tests.

陈医生表示，嗅觉差和死亡风险增加之间的联系仅限于那些一开始报告身体状况良好的老年人。这表明，在医学检测检测到症状之前，嗅觉差就是健康状况恶化的早期敏感信号。

“Poor sense of smell is likely an important health marker in older adults beyond what we have already known about,” noted Chen. He was talking about links to memory loss through dementia, Parkinson’s disease, a poor diet and safety risks.

陈医生表示：“嗅觉差可能是老年人健康的一个重要标志，以前我们并不知晓这一点。”他谈到了痴呆症、帕金森病、不良饮食和安全风险与记忆力丧失之间的联系。

People who started out the study in excellent or good health were 62 percent more likely to die by year 10 if they had a poor sense of smell, his team reported. But smell did not appear to make a meaningful difference in death rates for people who were in fair to poor health at the start of the study.

他的研究团队报告称，那些在研究开始时身体状况很好或很健康的人，但如果他们的嗅觉不好的话，在研究第10年去世的可能性增加了62%。但对于那些在研究开始时健康状况相对较差的人来说，嗅觉似乎并没有对死亡率产生明显的影响。

With a poor sense of smell, people were more likely to die of brain and heart diseases, but not of cancer or breathing disorders.

嗅觉差的人更容易死于脑部和心脏疾病，而不是死于癌症或呼吸障碍。

The results also suggest that a poor sense of smell may be an early warning for poor health in older age that goes beyond dementia or other neurodegenerative diseases. These often signal the beginning of a weakening of the mind or body.

研究结果还表明，嗅觉差可能是老年人身体健康状况不佳的早期预警，而老年健康状况不佳的症状不仅限于痴呆症或其他神经退行性疾病，这些疾病通常是精神或身体开始衰弱的信号。

Dementia and Parkinson’s disease explained only 22 percent of the higher death risk tied to a poor sense of smell. Weight loss explained just six percent of this connection, researchers estimated. That leaves more than 70 percent of the higher mortality rates tied to a weak nose unexplained.

与嗅觉差有关的高死亡率仅22%与痴呆症和帕金森氏症有关。研究人员估计，与嗅觉差有关的高死亡率仅有6%与体重下降有关。这使得还有70%以上与嗅觉差有关的高死亡率不知与何种疾病有关。

The connection between a poor sense of smell and mortality risk did not appear to change based on sex or race. It also did not change based on individuals’ other qualities, such as the way they live or ongoing health conditions.

嗅觉差和死亡风险之间的联系似乎并不受性别或种族所影响，也不会因为个人的其它依因素——如生活方式或持续的健康状况等因素所影响。

One limitation of the study is that the older adults were relatively active. This makes it possible that results might be different for younger people or for individuals who are weak, the study noted.

这项研究的一个限制因素是，这些老年人相对来说都比较活跃（身体比较健康）。研究指出，这使得对于j年轻人或身体比较虚弱的人来说，结果可能会有所不同。

Researchers also only tested smell at one point in time. They did not look at whether changes in subjects’ ability to smell over time might influence mortality. Researchers also lacked information about medical causes of a weak sense of smell.

研究人员也只在一个时间点进行了嗅觉测试。他们并没有研究受试者的嗅觉能力随着时间发生变化是否会影响死亡率。研究人员也缺乏关于医学原因所导致的嗅觉差方面的信息。

Annals of Internal Medicine published an editorial with the report.

《内科医学年鉴》随报告发表了一篇社论。

In it, Vidyulata Kamath noted that as people age, they may not know their sense of smell is worsening. For that reason, doctors may want to test the sense of smell in older patients who are at risk of disease or injury.

Vidyulata Kamath在文中指出，人们随着年龄的增长，他们可能不知道自己的嗅觉正在变差。出于这个原因，医生可能想测试有患病或受伤风险的老年病人的嗅觉。

Kamath is with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Kamath就职于巴尔的摩约翰霍普金斯大学医学院。

“The take-home message is that a loss in the sense of smell may serve as a bellwether for declining health,” Kamath wrote.

Kamath写道：“最重要的关键信息是，嗅觉退化可能是健康状况下降的一个风向标。”

Words in This Story

score(s) – n. the number of points that someone gets for correct answers on a test or exam

beyond – prep. more than something

neurodegenerative – adj. causing the brain or nerves to become weaker or less able to function as time passes

mortality – n. the death of a person or animal

bellwether – n. someone or something that leads others or shows what will happen in the future