VOA慢速英語：美國人的壽命長短取決于居住地

How Long Americans Live Depends on Where They Live

美國人的壽命長短取決于居住地

A new study has found that holong Americans live depends on where they live.

一項新的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，美國人的壽命取決于他們住在哪里。

Researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation or IHME at the University of Washington in Seattle found that the gap between counties with the highest and lowest life expectancies is larger now than it was in 1980. And life expectancy is falling in some counties. The researchers say this shows there is a large "and growing inequality in the health of Americans."

華盛頓大學(xué)西雅圖主校區(qū)健康指標(biāo)和評估研究所的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)前美國各縣之間的最高和最低預(yù)期壽命差距比1980年時更大，并且一些縣的預(yù)期壽命開始下降。研究人員表示，這說明美國人的健康狀況存在極大的不平等并且日益嚴(yán)重。

Several counties in the states of North and South Dakota, where many Native Americans live, have the lowest life expectancy rate. In Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota, the life expectancy was 66.8 in 2014.

北達科他州和南達科他州一些縣居住著很多美國原住民，這里的預(yù)期壽命最低。南達科他州的奧格拉拉·拉科塔縣2014年的預(yù)期壽命為66.8歲。

There has also been a drop in the life expectancy rate in counties in poor areas of Kentucky and West Virginia. In Owsley County, Kentucky, life expectancy was 72.4 years in 1980. But by 2014 it had fallen to 70.2.

肯塔基州和西弗吉尼亞州貧困縣的預(yù)期壽命也有所下降?？纤輮W斯理縣1980年的預(yù)期壽命為72.4歲，但是到2014年已經(jīng)降到了70.2歲。

Some of the counties with the highest life expectancy are in the western state of Colorado. Summit County had the longest life expectancy at 86.8 years. It was 86.5 in Pitkin County and 85.9 in Eagle County.

一些預(yù)期壽命高的縣位于西部的科羅拉多州。薩米特縣的預(yù)期壽命最高，達到了86.8歲。皮特金縣的預(yù)期壽命為86.5歲，鷹縣的預(yù)期壽命為85.9歲。

The average life expectancy in the United States was 79.1 in 2014.

2014年美國的平均壽命為79.1歲。

Dr. Ali Mokdad is one of the authors of the study. He says the findings demonstrate an urgent need "to reduce inequality in the health of Americans."

阿里·莫卡德(Ali Mokdad)博士是本研究的作者之一。他說，這一研究結(jié)果表露出減少美國人健康不平等的迫切需求。

He says "federal, state and local health departments need to invest in programs that work and engage their communities in disease prevention and health promotion."

他說，“聯(lián)邦、各州和地方衛(wèi)生部門需要投資項目，在疾病預(yù)防和促進健康方面幫助他們的社區(qū)。

The study showed that spending more money on healthcare does not appear to increase life expectancy.

這項研究表明，更高的醫(yī)保費用支出似乎并未提高預(yù)期壽命。

The United States spends more per person on health care than many developed countries -- $9,237 per person in 2014. That compares to $4,032 spent by Australia, which has a life expectancy of 82.3 and Japan, which spent $3,816 and has one of the highest life expectancies in the world at 83.1.

美國2014年的人均醫(yī)療支出為9237美元，超過了許多發(fā)達國家。與此相比，澳大利亞的人均醫(yī)療支出只有4032美元，預(yù)期壽命為82.3歲;同時日本的人均醫(yī)療支出為3816美元，預(yù)期壽命為83.1歲，是全球壽命最高的國家之一。

Laura Dwyer-Lindgren is a researcher at IHME and one of the authors of the study. She says examining "life expectancy on a national level masks the massive differences that exist at the local level, especially in a country as diverse as the United States. Risk factors like obesity, lack of exercise, high blood pressure, and smoking explain a large portion of the variation in lifespans, but so do socioeconomic factors like race, education and income."

Laura Dwyer-Lindgren是華盛頓大學(xué)健康指標(biāo)和評估研究所的一名研究人員，也是該研究的作者之一。她說，在國家層面上剖析預(yù)期壽命掩蓋了地方層面上存在的巨大差異，尤其是在一個像美國這樣多樣化的國家。肥胖、運動不足、高血壓和吸煙等危險因素對壽命差異負(fù)有大部分責(zé)任，但是種族、教育和收入等社會因素也有責(zé)任。

Dr. Christopher Murray is the director of the IHME. He says "the inequality in health in the United States -- a country that spends more on health care than any other -- is unacceptable. Every American, regardless of where they live or their background, deserves to live a long and healthy life. If we allow trends to continue as they are, the gap will only widen between counties."

克里斯托弗·默里(Christopher Murray)博士是華盛頓大學(xué)健康指標(biāo)和評估研究所的負(fù)責(zé)人。他說：“美國的醫(yī)療支出超過了其它國家，這樣一個國家的健康狀況不平等是不可接受的。每一個美國人，無論他們住在哪里，無論他們的背景，都理應(yīng)過上健康長壽的生活。如果我們允許這樣的趨勢持續(xù)下去，各縣之間的差距將會更大。”

The study was published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.

該研究于周一發(fā)表在《美國醫(yī)學(xué)會內(nèi)科醫(yī)學(xué)期刊》上。

I'm Phil Dierking.

菲爾·德爾金報道。