VOA慢速英语2019 痴呆症已成为日趋严重的全球性健康问题（在线收听）

Dementia: A Growing Worldwide Health Problem

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

这里是VOA慢速英语健康生活报道。

Aging is normal. But dementia is not a normal part of aging.

衰老是正常现象。但痴呆并不是衰老的正常情况。

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines dementia as an illness marked by a decline in a person’s ability to think, reason and understand “beyond what might be expected from normal aging.”

世界卫生组织（简称WHO）对痴呆症的定义是：一种表现为思考、推理及理解能力退化的病症，而且超出正常衰老的预期。

It results from a variety of diseases and injuries that affect the brain, such as Alzheimer disease or stroke. About 50 million people around the world have dementia.

老年痴呆是多种影响大脑的疾病和损伤所导致的后果，比如阿尔茨海默病或中风。全球有约5000万人患有痴呆症。

WHO experts warn that dementia is a “rapidly growing public health problem.” People with dementia are often not able to care for themselves. Their need for care, the WHO adds, creates great economic problems for families and societies. Experts estimate that by the year 2030 caring for people with dementia will cost about $2 trillion (US$) every year.

世卫组织专家警告称，痴呆症已成为“迅速加剧的公共健康问题”。一般来说，痴呆症患者无法照顾自已。世卫组织表示，痴呆症患者的护理需求给家庭和社会造成了巨大的经济问题。专家估计，到2030年，痴呆症患者每年的护理费用将上升到约2万亿美元。

That is what health experts from the World Health Organization said in a recent statement to the press. They add that there are nearly 10 million new cases every year and that number is set to triple by the year 2050.

这是世界卫生组织的健康专家在近期向新闻界发表的声明中所说。专家还表示，痴呆症病例每年新增近1000万，到2050年，痴呆病例将是现在的三倍。

How to reduce the risk of getting dementia

如何减少患痴呆症的风险

As a part of their awareness campaign, the WHO released new guidelines for reducing the risk of getting dementia.

世卫组织发布了减少患痴呆症风险的新指南，这是世卫组织宣传活动的部分内容。

WHO experts say that scientific evidence confirms that what is good for our hearts is also good for our brains. Having an active and healthy lifestyle is the best way to avoid getting dementia as we age.

世卫组织专家表示，科学证据证实，对我们的心脏有好处的也对我们的大脑有好处。积极健康的生活方式是避免年老以后患痴呆症的最佳方法。

The WHO guidelines include the following:

世卫组织的指南包括以下内容：

exercise regularly

定期锻炼

do not smoke

不要吸烟

do not drink harmful amounts of alcohol

不要过量饮酒

keep a healthy weight

保持健康的体重

eat a healthy diet

健康饮食

keep your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar at healthy levels

将血压、胆固醇和血糖保持在健康水平

The guidelines are common sense advice given by many other health organizations, such as the U.S. National Institute on Aging. But they are important reminders. They can help healthcare providers advise their patients on what they can do to help prevent cognitive decline and dementia.

新指南与美国国家老年人协会等许多其他健康机构提出的常识建议相符。这些是非常重要的提示。这些指南可以帮助医疗工作者为患者提供建议，告诉患者预防认知衰退和痴呆症的方法。

The new guidelines can also help governments and policy-makers design social programs to help people lead healthy lifestyles. WHO experts add that possibly following a Mediterranean-style diet may help prevent dementia. But they warn against talking vitamin B or E pills, fish oil or other so-called “brain health” pills. They say there is “strong research showing they don’t work.”

新指南还能帮助政府和决策制定者规划社会项目，以引导人们过健康的生活。世卫组织专家还指出，也许坚持地中海饮食有助于预防痴呆症。但他们同时对有关维生素B或E药片、鱼油或其他所谓的“改善脑健康”药片的讨论进行了警告。他们说，“强有力的研究结果证明，这些没有效果。”

The WHO advises countries to create support plans to help caregivers.

世卫组织建议各国制定协助护理人员的支持计划。

Dr. Dévora Kestel is Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at the World Health Organization. In a statement to the press, she said that people who care for people with dementia are very often family members. These family members “need to make considerable adjustments to their family and professional lives to care for their loved ones.”

杰沃拉·克斯特尔博士是世界卫生组织精神卫生和物质滥用部门的主任。她在向新闻界发表的声明中说，通常情况下，照顾痴呆症患者的人是其家人。这些家人“需要对家庭和职业生涯作出重大调整，才能照顾他们爱的人”。

Words in This Story

decline – n. the process of becoming worse in condition or quality?

variety – n. the quality or state of having or including many different things?

rapidly – n. happening in a short amount of time: happening quickly?

awareness – n. the state or condition of knowing that something (such as a situation, condition, or problem) exists?

diet – n. the food that a person or animal usually eats?

society – n. people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values?

regularly – adv. at the same time every day, week, month, etc. : on a regular basis

reminder – n. something that calls a memory or thought to the mind

cognitive – adj. technical : of, relating to, or involving conscious mental activities (such as thinking, understanding, learning, and remembering)

pill – n. a small, rounded object that you swallow and that contains medicine, vitamins, etc.

adjustment– n. a small change that improves something or makes it work better