VOA慢速英语2019 研究表明职业足球运动员更易患痴呆症（在线收听）

Study Raises New Concerns of Dementia from Playing Professional Football

A study of former professional football players in Scotland finds that they were more likely to die from dementia than any other cause.

一项对苏格兰前职业足球运动员的研究发现，他们死于痴呆症的可能性要高于其他任何疾病。 

The results bring attention to the risks of head injuries from playing the sport Americans call soccer.

研究结果引起人们对这种运动中头部受伤风险的关注。美国人称此运动为“soccer”（足球）。 

Researchers from the University of Glasgow reported the results in the New England Journal of Medicine. They compared the causes of death of 7,676 Scottish men who played professional soccer with 23,028 similar men from the general population. The men were all born between 1900 and 1976. Over 18 years of study, 1,180 players and 3,807 of the other group died.

格拉斯哥大学的研究人员在《新英格兰医学杂志》上发表了这一结果。他们将7,676名苏格兰前职业足球男运动员的死因和23,028名情况类似的普通男性的死因进行对比。这些男子全都生于1900年至1976年间。在18年的研究中，共有1,180名运动员和3,807名来自另一组的普通人过世。

The players had a lower risk of death from any cause until age 70. However, they had a 3.4 times higher rate of death from diseases affecting the brain, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. Former players also were more likely to receive dementia medicines than people in the other group were.

这些退役球员在70岁以前死于疾病的风险较低。但是，他们因诸如阿尔茨海默氏症或帕金森氏症等影响大脑的疾病而死亡的几率比普通人高出3.4倍。与其他组别相比，退役球员接受痴呆症药物治疗的可能性也更大。

Doctor Robert Stern is a scientist with Boston University. He studies sports-related brain injuries. He noted that the findings were about professional players. He said they might not apply to those who play for fun, college players or women.

罗伯特·斯特恩博士是波士顿大学的科学家，主要研究与运动有关的脑损伤。他指出，此项研究结果只针对职业球员。他说，研究发现可能不适用于以踢球为兴趣爱好的人群、大学生球员或女性。

Stern said parents “should focus on the…health benefits from exercise and participation in a sport that their children enjoy.” He added that parents should still consider the risks of heading – hitting the ball with one’s head. Stern’s comments were published with the study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

斯特恩说，父母“应该关注……锻炼以及孩子参与喜欢的运动对健康的好处。”他补充道，父母还应该考虑到用头击球的风险。 斯特恩的评论随这项研究发表在《新英格兰医学杂志》上。

Greg Clark is chairman of the English Football Association. The organization helped support the study. Clark said, "The whole game must recognize that this is only the start of our understanding and there are many questions that still need to be answered.”

格雷格·克拉克是英国足球协会主席。该组织为这项研究提供了支持。克拉克说：“整个运动必须认识到这只是我们了解的开始，还有许多问题需要解答。”

The English Football Association’s medical advisory group has not said it is necessary to change how the game is played. Officials across all levels of soccer can stop games for three minutes to fully examine head injuries. However, some experts believe that is not long enough. The English Football Association also is pushing soccer’s worldwide lawmaking body to permit substitutions for players who suffer concussions during gameplay.

英格兰足球协会的医学咨询组并未表示需要改变这项运动的方式。各个级别的足球官员可以暂停比赛三分钟，以全面检查头部受伤情况。但是，一些专家认为时间还不够充裕。英国足球协会也正在推动全球的足球立法机构，允许在比赛期间替换遭受脑震荡的球员。

The family of former England soccer player Jeff Astle is leading efforts to learn more about the long-term effects of head injuries in football. Astle died at age 59 in 2002. His death is believed to be related to repeatedly hitting heavy, leather balls with his head.

前英格兰足球运动员杰夫·阿斯图尔的家人正在带领大家，努力了解足球运动中头部受伤的长期影响。阿斯图尔于2002年去世，享年59岁。人们认为他的过世与反复用头部击打又沉又重的皮球有关。

In 2017, a British study of the brains of a small number of retired players who developed dementia brought attention to the damage possibly caused by repeated strikes on the head.

2017年，英国的一项研究针对少数患有痴呆症的退役球员的大脑展开，这让人们开始关注反复撞击头部可能会造成的伤害。