VOA标准英语2010年-Malnutrition in Pregnancy May Set Stag

A new study suggests that extreme malnutrition¹ early in pregnancy² may put a child at risk for Alzheimer's Disease decades later. The study begins not in the laboratory, but in the Netherlands during World War II.

 

At the end of 1944, Nazi³ occupation forces imposed a five-month food embargo⁴ in part of the Netherlands, in retaliation⁵ for a Dutch railroad strike aimed at disrupting German troop movements.

During the resulting famine, food rations⁶ were as little as 400 calories a day for residents - including pregnant women.

The children of those pregnancies⁷, the so-called Dutch famine birth cohort, have been followed closely in the decades since. Researchers have compared them in a series of studies with a control group of children born immediately before and after, to explore the long-term effects of their mothers' malnutrition during pregnancy.

In the latest research, done when the famine babies were in their late 50s, Susanne de Rooij and colleagues at the University of Amsterdam tested them for early signs of dementia.

They found little difference except in something called the Stroop test. That's a test where you are shown the word for one color printed in a different color, and you're asked to disregard the spelled-out color name and say the color that the word is printed in.

"And we found that the people who were exposed to the famine in the beginning of pregnancy, that they performed worse on these tasks," de Rooij explained. "And we think this is very interesting because a recent study has shown that this is one of the first things that may go wrong when you're developing Alzheimer's Disease later."

A study in the 1970s, when they were young army recruits, found no difference in intelligence between the famine and control groups.

But previous research has show physical health differences including increased obesity⁸, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes⁹ among the famine babies.

De Rooij's study wasn't designed to show the specific cause of any differences they discovered, but she says the fact that those most affected¹⁰ suffered malnutrition early in their gestation¹¹ suggests one possibility.

"We think this is sort of an indication that as the central nervous system is being formed in the first part of pregnancy, that maybe something goes wrong due to the lack of nutrients¹², that the central nervous system isn't really well constructed or [is] more sensitive to aging. So we think this may be happening, but of course we cannot be sure about that," she said.

Susanne de Rooij says she and other researchers will continue to follow the children of the World War II era famine as they age, to learn more about the effect of malnutrition during pregnancy.

 

1 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

2 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

3 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

4 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

5 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

7 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

8 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

9 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 gestation   

n.怀孕；酝酿

参考例句：

• The gestation period can be anything between 95 and 150 days.妊娠期从95天至150天不等。
• This film was two years in gestation.这部电影酝酿了两年。

12 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》