研究表明，保持心臟健康可以讓大腦永葆青春

研究表明，保持心臟健康可以讓大腦永葆青春

If you want to keep your brain sharp and focused as you age, it's important to keep your heart healthy.

隨著年齡的增長，如果你想讓你的大腦保持敏銳和專注，保持心臟健康是很重要的。

People with more risk factors for heart disease — such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity — experienced more cognitive decline than people with healthier hearts, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

美國心臟病學會雜志周一發(fā)表的一項研究顯示，與心臟健康的人相比，那些有更多的心臟病風險因素的人(如高血壓、高膽固醇、糖尿病和肥胖)的認知能力下降更嚴重。

"There are many specific cardiovascular risk factors, and each can either individually, or in combination, push the fast-forward button towards different aspects of cognitive decline," said Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.

“有許多特定的心血管風險因素，每個因素都可以單獨或結(jié)合起來，從不同方面快速推進認知衰退，”威爾康奈爾醫(yī)學院和紐約長老會醫(yī)院老年癡呆癥預防診所的主任理查德·艾薩克森博士說。

"This study focused on individual areas of cognition, such as memory and processing speed, and helps to clarify complex interrelationships between heart and brain health," said Isaacson, who was not involved in the study.

“這項研究集中在認知的個別領域，比如記憶和處理速度，有助于闡明心臟和大腦健康之間復雜的相互關(guān)系，”艾薩克森說，他沒有參與這項研究。

The study followed over 1,500 dementia-free people with an average age of 79.5 for 21 years and found those at highest risk for poor heart health had faster declines in memory and the ability to compare letters, numbers, objects, pictures or patterns.

這項研究對1500名平均年齡為79.5歲的無癡呆癥患者進行了21年的跟蹤調(diào)查，發(fā)現(xiàn)那些心臟健康狀況不佳的人記憶力和比較字母、數(shù)字、物品、圖片或圖案的能力下降得更快。

Some of those people also underwent brain scans, which found shrinkage of the brain's memory center, the hippocampus, and an increase of white spots in the brain associated with declines in functionality.

其中一些人還接受了腦部掃描，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)大腦的記憶中心海馬體萎縮，大腦白斑增多，功能衰退。

High blood pressure and diabetes can accelerate shrinkage of the brain. High cholesterol can increase the bad protein that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's.

高血壓和糖尿病會加速大腦萎縮。高膽固醇會增加阿爾茨海默癥患者大腦中積聚的不良蛋白質(zhì)。

How to lessen your chances of dementia

如何降低患癡呆癥的幾率

Exercise.

鍛煉。

Avoid transfats and other unhealthy fats.

避免反式脂肪和其他不健康脂肪。

Take care of your teeth.

照顧好你的牙齒。

Improve your sleep.

改善你的睡眠。

Stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke.

停止吸煙，避免二手煙。

Dementia rates are skyrocketing

癡呆癥的發(fā)病率正在飆升

Taking action to protect your brain is critical, experts say. The rate of Alzheimer's and dementia in the United States and around the world is skyrocketing. Nearly 6 million people suffer from Alzheimer's in the US, according to the Alzheimer's Association's 2020 report, and that is expected to grow to almost 14 million by the middle of the century.

專家說，采取行動保護你的大腦是至關(guān)重要的。在美國和世界各地，阿爾茨海默氏癥和癡呆癥的發(fā)病率正在飆升。根據(jù)阿爾茨海默氏癥協(xié)會2020年的報告，美國有近600萬人患有阿爾茨海默氏癥，預計到本世紀中葉，這一數(shù)字將增至近1400萬。

The World Health Organization says some 50 million people in the world have dementia, with the vast majority of those suffering from Alzheimer's. With nearly 10 million new cases worldwide every year, study authors say doctors need to have more tools, to help them monitor and prevent cognitive decline.

世界衛(wèi)生組織表示，世界上約有5000萬人患有癡呆癥，其中絕大多數(shù)人患有阿爾茨海默氏癥。全球每年有近1000萬新病例，該研究的作者說，醫(yī)生需要更多的工具，來幫助他們監(jiān)測和預防認知能力下降。