研究：空氣污染讓人變得越來越笨

來自專欄夏面雙語新聞

（CNN)Air pollution could be more damaging to our health than previously thought, according to a new study, which found that prolonged exposure to dirty air has a significant impact on our cognitive abilities, especially in older men.

一項新研究指出，空氣污染對健康的影響遠比我們之前想的要嚴重。該研究發現，持續暴露於污濁的空氣中對我們的認知能力有重大影響，尤其是對老年人。

According to the study published Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, breathing polluted air causes a "steep reduction" in scores on verbal and math tests.

根據8月27日發表在美國國家科學院院刊的這項研究，吸入的污染空氣是導致人們的文字測試和數學測試成績出現陡降的原因。

Researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) examined data from the national China Family Panel Studies longitudinal survey, mapping the cognitive test scores of nearly 32,000 people over the age of 10 between 2010 and 2014 against their exposure to short- and long-term air pollution.

國際糧食政策研究所的研究人員檢查了中國家庭追蹤調查縱向調查數據，找出了約2010-2014年間受到短期到長期空氣污染的32000名10歲以上的人的認知測試成績。

The team found that both verbal and math scores "decreased with increasing cumulative air pollution exposure," with the decline in verbal scores being particularly pronounced among older, less educated men.

該團隊發現，文字測試和數學測試都會隨著「暴露於空氣污染的程度的擴大而降低「，老年人、教育程度較低的人群的語言測試成績下降尤為突出。

"The damage air pollution has on aging brains likely imposes substantial health and economic cost, considering that cognitive functioning is critical for the elderly to both running daily errands and making high-stakes economic decisions," study author Xiaobo Zhang of Peking University said.

」鑒於認知功能對老年人的日常生活和做出高風險經濟決策非常重要，空氣污染對老人大腦的影響可能會帶來巨大的健康和經濟方面代價，」北京大學研究作者張曉波（音譯）說道。

Cognitive decline or impairment, which could be caused by air pollution according to the study, are also potential risk factors in developing Alzheimers disease or other forms of dementia.

該研究稱，環境污染所導致的認知能力下降或受損，也是人們患上老年痴呆症和其他形式的痴呆症的潛在風險因素。

Pollution exposure was measured using data on air quality, which includes three air pollutants: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter.

污染暴露是以空氣質量數據來衡量的，空氣質量數據包括三種空氣污染物：二氧化硫、二氧化氮和直徑小於10微米的顆粒物。

Air pollution linked to 3.2 million new diabetes cases in one year

每年，空氣污染和320萬例糖尿病有著千絲萬縷的聯繫。

Poor hardest hit

污染最嚴重的地區

While the study adds to the already numerous health concerns regarding air pollution, it will be of particular concern to developing nations, whose smoggy cities could be hampering national economic development.

在該研究讓空氣污染造成的健康問題進一步擴大化的同時，空氣污染將成為發展中國家尤為牽掛的問題，因為霧霾城市會成為這些國家經濟發展的絆腳石。

"The damage on cognitive ability by air pollution also likely impedes the development of human capital. Therefore, a narrow focus on the negative effect on health may underestimate the total cost of air pollution," Zhang said. "Our findings on the damaging effect of air pollution on cognition imply that the indirect effect of pollution on social welfare could be much larger than previously thought."

「空氣污染對認知能力的損傷還能阻礙人力資本的發展。因此，如果人們關注到了健康方面的負面影響，他們可能會低估空氣污染帶來的全部影響。」張曉波說道。「我們關於空氣污染對於認知能力的損傷的調查研究意味著空氣污染對社會福利的間接影響可能比我們之前想的更大。」

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nine out of every 10 people on the planet breathe air containing a high level of pollutants, with the worst affected regions being Africa and Asia.

世界衛生組織表示，地球上9/10的人呼吸的空氣包含大量的污染物，受影響程度最大的地區是非洲和亞洲。

Of the worlds top 20 most polluted cities, as measured by the WHO, all are in developing countries. Almost all cities in low to middle-income countries with more than a million residents fail to meet minimum WHO guidelines.

世界衛生組織評出的世界排名前20位的污染城市全部都在發展中國家。幾乎所有的中低層收入都有超過100萬居民沒有滿足世界衛生組織的最低標準。

City dwellers arent the only ones breathing in smog either, a study in January found that 75% of deaths related to air pollution in India were in rural areas.

城市居民不是唯一呼吸著霧霾的群體，今年一月的一項研究發現，印度75%和空氣污染相關的死亡都發生在農村。

While some countries, including China, are taking measures to address air pollution, this will also potentially effect economic growth.

雖然中國在內的許多國家正在採取措施來解決空氣污染，但這可能還會給當地的經濟發展帶來潛在的影響。

Meanwhile, the wealthiest city dwellers are able to buy their way out of smog.

同時，最富裕的居民能用錢買到過濾霧霾的儀器。

In Beijing, the rich are specially designing their homes and buying appliances to filter out pollutants in their air and water, while poorer residents are stuck breathing in the unfiltered smog, affecting not only their health but also, according to the new study, their cognitive abilities.

在北京，富人們特別喜歡在給家裡增添一些設計，他們購買了電器來過濾空氣和水中的污染物，不過貧窮的居民只能繼續呼吸未過濾的充滿霧霾的空氣，這不僅對他們的健康有影響，而且新的研究還指出，這還會對認知能力帶來影響。

source：Air pollution is making us dumber, study shows