VOA慢速英語:Life Expectancy Gap Widens Between Women in Rich and Poor Countries

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語健康報道。

The World Health Organization says women aged 50 and older are generally in better health now than they were 20 to 30 years ago. But a new study confirms that older women in rich countries live longer than those in the developing world and the differences in life expectancy are widening.

世界衛(wèi)生組織稱，50歲及以上年齡婦女目前比二、三十年前更為健康。但一項新的研究證實，富裕國家的老年婦女比發(fā)展中國家婦女壽命更長，而且壽命的差異正在擴大。

The World Health Organization says heart disease, stroke and cancers are the leading causes of death of women aged 50 years and older. But it says women in developing countries can often die from one of these problems at an earlier age.

世界衛(wèi)生組織表示，心臟病、中風(fēng)和癌癥是50歲及以上年齡婦女死亡的主要原因。但它表示，發(fā)展中國家婦女經(jīng)常會在更早的年齡因為這其中一種疾病去世。

The study is one of the first to examine the causes of death of women aged 50 years and older from several rich and poor countries. It found that many women die at a young age because they live in places that lack for money to prevent, identify and treat non-communicable diseases.

這項研究是首次調(diào)查數(shù)個富裕和貧窮國家50歲及以上年齡婦女死因的研究之一。該研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，很多婦女早逝是因為她們所居之地缺乏資金來預(yù)防、確診和治療非傳染性疾病。

Colin Mathers is head of the WHO Mortality and Burden of Disease Unit. He says developed countries have the money and health systems to reduce and control heart disease. He says cancer of the cervix is one of the leading cancers among African women. He says the disease is largely preventable, but African countries have fewer resources to treat it.

科林·馬瑟斯(Colin Mathers)是世界衛(wèi)生組織死亡率和疾病負擔(dān)部門的負責(zé)人。他表示，發(fā)達國家擁有減少和控制心臟疾病的資金和衛(wèi)生系統(tǒng)。他說，宮頸癌是非洲女性中最主要的癌癥之一，這種疾病很大程度上可以預(yù)防，但非洲國家沒有足夠資源來處理這種疾病。

"There is simply not enough money to provide high quality health care to everyone that is accessible. And, also a matter of human resources, that there often are not enough trained doctors and nurses and other health professionals in the country."

馬瑟斯說，“非洲根本沒有足夠資金向所有人提供高品質(zhì)的醫(yī)療保健，而且人手方面也存在問題，非洲國內(nèi)經(jīng)常缺少訓(xùn)練有素的醫(yī)生、護士以及其它專業(yè)衛(wèi)生人員。

Dr. Mathers says donors give comparatively little money to fight non-communicable diseases in African. He says most of the money goes instead toward reducing the number of women dying during child birth. This has helped to bring down maternal mortality rates, but death rates among older women have increased.

馬瑟斯表示表示，捐贈人在非洲提供的用于對抗非傳染性疾病的資金相對較少，大部分資金都用于降低分娩時的婦女死亡人數(shù)。這樣做有助于降低孕產(chǎn)婦死亡率，但老年婦女死亡率卻增加了。

The study found on average, women over 50 live at least 3.5 years longer than they did 20 years ago. Older women in Japan now can expect to live 88 years. In Germany, the life expectancy rate for older women is 84. Women in many other developed countries can expect to live to age 83 or 84. But women in poorer countries die about 10 years earlier.

該研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，50歲以上婦女比20年前平均多活至少3.5年。日本老年婦女目前有望活到88歲，德國老年婦女的預(yù)期壽命是84歲，其它發(fā)達國家婦女有望活到83或84歲。但貧窮國家的婦女要少活10年左右。

Dr. Mathers says major risks for older women include smoking, the harmful use of alcohol, and being overweight or obese.

馬瑟斯博士表示，老年婦女面臨的主要風(fēng)險包括吸煙、過度飲酒，以及超重或肥胖。

The World Health Organization says the number of long-lasting diseases can be cut through cost-effective methods to stop common diseases. These include prevention, early identification and control of high blood pressure, obesity and high cholesterol.

世界衛(wèi)生組織表示，可以通過采取成本低收效大的方式遏制常見疾病來減少慢性病的數(shù)量。這些方式包括高血壓、肥胖以及高膽固醇的預(yù)防、早期確診和控制。