研究表明，從事有償工作的女性在晚年的記憶喪失速度較慢

研究表明，從事有償工作的女性在晚年的記憶喪失速度較慢

Having a paying job might shield women from memory loss decades later, according to a new study.

一項(xiàng)新的研究表明，從事有償工作可能會(huì)使女性在幾十年后免于失憶。

That's because paid work may offer mental stimulation, financial benefits and social connections that could limit declines in memory as women age, said Elizabeth Rose Mayeda, who led the research as an assistant professor of epidemiology at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health.

加州大學(xué)洛杉磯分校菲爾丁公共衛(wèi)生學(xué)院流行病學(xué)助理教授、本次研究的負(fù)責(zé)人伊麗莎白·羅斯·馬耶達(dá)說(shuō)，這是因?yàn)橛袃敼ぷ骺赡軙?huì)帶來(lái)精神刺激、經(jīng)濟(jì)利益和社會(huì)關(guān)系，從而限制女性隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)記憶力下降。

With women making up nearly two-thirds of all Americans living with Alzheimer's, the research suggests that preventing the disease may require more than drugs or medical interventions.

女性占美國(guó)老年癡呆癥患者的近三分之二，研究表明，預(yù)防老年癡呆癥需要的可能不僅僅是藥物或醫(yī)療干預(yù)。

"Policies that promote equal pay for equal work, paid family leave and affordable child care" could one day be part of the conversation about women's dementia in old age, said Mayeda, who presented her findings Tuesday at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Los Angeles.

馬耶達(dá)周二在洛杉磯舉行的阿爾茨海默氏癥協(xié)會(huì)國(guó)際會(huì)議上介紹了她的發(fā)現(xiàn)。她說(shuō)，“促進(jìn)同工同酬、帶薪探親假和負(fù)擔(dān)得起的兒童看護(hù)的政策”有一天可能會(huì)成為有關(guān)女性老年癡呆癥的討論的一部分。

The research is preliminary and has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, but Rebecca Edelmayer, director of scientific engagement at the Alzheimer's Association, said "it's possible that work in mid-life may actually be protective."

這項(xiàng)研究還處于初步階段，尚未發(fā)表在同行評(píng)審的醫(yī)學(xué)雜志上，但阿爾茨海默氏癥協(xié)會(huì)的科學(xué)參與主任麗貝卡·埃德爾邁耶說(shuō)，“中年工作可能確實(shí)具有保護(hù)作用。”

"Roles for women in the workforce and family have really changed dramatically over the years," she added, "so it's important that we continue to study the relevance of those changes and how they could be impacting the risk for women related to Alzheimer's disease."

“這些年來(lái)，女性在工作和家庭中的角色確實(shí)發(fā)生了巨大的變化，”她補(bǔ)充說(shuō)，“因此，我們繼續(xù)研究這些變化的相關(guān)性，以及它們?nèi)绾斡绊懪c患阿爾茨海默病的女性的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，是很重要的。”

The women facing a higher risk

女性面臨更高的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)

Mayeda's team looked at more than 6,000 women born between 1935 and 1956 and collected their family and employment histories through age 50. Over two decades, from 1995 to 2016, the women underwent regular cognitive assessments. They were asked to recall lists of words from memory, for example, and fill out questionnaires on cognitive decline.

馬耶達(dá)的研究小組調(diào)查了6000多名出生于1935年至1956年之間的女性，收集了她們50歲之前的家庭和工作經(jīng)歷。從1995年到2016年的20年間，這些女性接受了定期的認(rèn)知評(píng)估。例如，他們被要求回憶單詞列表，并填寫關(guān)于認(rèn)知能力下降的問(wèn)卷。

Rates of memory decline were similar in mothers and non-mothers who worked, but memory decline was fastest in women who weren't part of the workforce.

在有工作的母親和非母親中，記憶力下降的速度是相似的，但在沒有工作的女性中，記憶力下降最快。

Married mothers who didn't work, for example, saw their memory decline 61% faster over a 10-year period than those with paid jobs.

例如，不工作的已婚母親的記憶力在10年內(nèi)比有工作的母親下降了61%。

The differences were even more striking in single mothers: Their memories declined 83% faster if they didn't participate in the workforce.

這種差異在單身母親身上更為明顯:如果她們不參加工作，她們的記憶力下降速度會(huì)更快為83%。

But that work didn't have to be continuous to offer protection, Mayeda said. Married mothers who took time off to care for children but rejoined the workforce, for example, still saw slower memory declines.

但馬耶達(dá)說(shuō)，不一定要持續(xù)工作才能保護(hù)記憶力不下降。例如，那些請(qǐng)假照顧孩子但又重新參加工作的已婚母親，她們的記憶力下降速度仍然較慢。

"Women who engaged in the paid labor force for at least a significant time period appeared to have slower rates of memory decline in later age," said Mayeda. "It didn't mean that you had to work continuously, for example, in your 20s, 30s and 40s."

馬耶達(dá)說(shuō):“至少在相當(dāng)長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間內(nèi)從事有償工作的女性，晚年記憶力下降的速度似乎較慢。”“這并不意味著你必須不停地工作，比如在你20多歲、30多歲和40多歲的時(shí)候。”

Workforce offers financial benefits

勞動(dòng)力提供經(jīng)濟(jì)效益

Paid work may offer economic benefits that influence health, said Dr. John Rowe, a professor of health policy and aging at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health.

哥倫比亞大學(xué)梅爾曼公共衛(wèi)生學(xué)院研究衛(wèi)生政策和老齡化的教授約翰·羅博士說(shuō)，有償工作可能會(huì)帶來(lái)經(jīng)濟(jì)效益，而這種經(jīng)濟(jì)效益會(huì)影響健康。

"They're in the labor force which means they may have health insurance, which gives them better access to care than people without health insurance," Rowe said.

羅說(shuō):“他們是勞動(dòng)力，這意味著他們可能有醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)，這使他們比沒有醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)的人更容易獲得醫(yī)療保健。”

But work also brings people together, he said, and "there are very few jobs you get paid to do where you're not interacting with other people."

但工作也會(huì)讓人們走到一起，他說(shuō)，“很少有工作是你不與他人交流就能得到報(bào)酬的。”

Offering women "social engagement" and allowing them to build a "social network through work" could protect against memory loss, Mayeda said.

馬耶達(dá)說(shuō)，為女性提供“社會(huì)參與”并允許她們通過(guò)工作建立“社會(huì)網(wǎng)絡(luò)”可以防止失憶。

"There are many studies that have shown that people who are engaged have greater physical than people who are not," he said. That may not have to be paid work, he added, but could include volunteering as well.

他說(shuō):“許多研究表明，參加工作的人比不參加工作的人更健康。”他補(bǔ)充說(shuō)，這些工作不一定要有報(bào)酬，但也可以包括志愿服務(wù)。