新奇事件簿 朋友圈强大有助于长寿（在线收听）

New research suggests that having good friends in old age may be more important for longevity than having close family ties. This is according to a study published in the British Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health on June 16. Researchers interviewed 1,500 Australians over the age of 70 about their social and family relations. Findings indicated that affiliations with close friends improved chances of survival beyond ten years by 22 per cent. This was attributed to the positive physiological effects on the body of increased recreation and social activity. The researchers proposed that the beneficial feelings experienced by the septuagenarians because of their friends was the antithesis to the negative effects that stress has on our well-being.

新的研究发现，对长寿来说，年老时有好朋友比家庭关系亲密更加重要。这是英国《流行病和社区健康期刊》6月16日发表的一份研究的结果。调查人员采访了1500名70岁以上澳大利亚人的社交和家庭关系状况。结果显示，与好朋友交往可以使增寿10年的几率增加22%。这是因为增加的娱乐和社交活动对人体积极的生理影响。研究人员建议，七十多岁的老年人由于朋友带来的有益感受刚好与压力给健康带来的负面影响对立。

The researchers analyzed data gathered from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging, which began in 1992. This study aimed to gauge how a range of behavioral, economic, environmental and social factors affected the constitution of the test group of 70-year-olds. The senior citizens were monitored annually for the first four years of the ten-year-long study and at three-yearly intervals thereafter. The team found that those with the strongest network of friends and confidants were less likely to die by the end of the ten-year period. This was consistent even after factoring in other variables such as the death of a spouse, financial upheavals or other traumatic events. The message is to keep in touch if you want to live longer.

研究人员分析了1992年开始的澳大利亚纵向老龄化研究收集的数据。这项研究旨在衡量行为，经济，环境和社交等一系列因素对70多岁调查对象体质的影响。研究历时十年，最初四年，每年都会对这些老年公民进行监督，随后每三年一次。研究小组发现，朋友圈和密友团强大的人在十年内去世的可能性较低。即使考虑到其他变量，比如配偶死亡，经济动荡和其他悲伤事件在内，结果也是一样的。这份研究传递给我们的信息是：如果想长寿，多跟朋友联系。