走路的快慢反映了衰老速度
Your Walking Speed Can Tell You How Fast You're Aging
走路的快慢反映了衰老速度
If your stride has slowed down in your forties, you may be aging faster than you realize. That's the result of a new study, which found that your walking speed at age 45 can be an indicator of your physical and neurological aging.
如果四十多歲的你已經開始走路變慢，那麼你的衰老速度可能比你以爲的更快。這是一項新研究得出的結論，該研究發現：一個人在45歲時的走路速度反映了他/她的身體和神經衰老速度。
While previous research has already found a link between an older person's gait and their health, the new study, published this week in JAMA Network Open, specifically looked at hundreds of 45-year-olds to get a much deeper sense of what walking speed reveals about aging.
雖然先前的研究已經發現老年人的步態與他們的健康有關，但本週發表在美國醫學會雜誌開放網絡（JAMA Network Open）上的這項新研究具體調查了數百名45歲的受試者，以深入瞭解走路速度與衰老之間的關係。
"How fast people are walking in midlife tells us a lot about how much their bodies and brains have aged over time," lead author Line Jee Hartmann Rasmussen, a postdoctoral fellow who researches aging at Duke University, tells Health. Gait speed seems to be not only an indicator of aging, but also an indicator of lifelong brain health, adds Rasmussen.
“步入中年時，一個人的走路快慢在很大程度上反映了他/她的身體和大腦的衰老情況，”研究的主要作者Line Jee Hartmann Rasmussen（杜克大學一名研究衰老過程的博士後）對《健康》雜誌說道。走路快慢似乎並不止是衰老的指標，而且也是大腦終身健康的指標，Rasmussen補充道。
In the study, researchers examined more than 40 years of data collected from over 1,000 New Zealanders born between 1972 and 1973.
在這項研究中，研究員查看了1972年至1973年出生的1000多位新西蘭人的數據，數據跨度40多年。
Starting at the age of three, each study participant was assessed by a pediatric neurologist, who measured everything from intelligence and language/motor skills to emotional and behavioral regulation. After that, each had their health regularly assessed and examined and underwent interviews every few years.
從3歲起，研究中的每一位受試者都接受兒科神經醫生的評估，包括智力、語言/運動技能、情感和行爲調節。此後，每位受試者還定期進行健康檢查，每隔幾年接受一次採訪。
At the age of 45, researchers measure the gait speed of 904 participants using a simple test. The researchers also looked at how quickly they were aging, based on 19 health markers including body mass index, blood pressure, and cholesterol level. Additionally, they conducted the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV test, did a brain MRI, and rated facial aging.
在904位受試者45歲之際，研究員對他們進行了一項簡單測試以測量他們的走路速度。研究員也基於19項健康指標觀察了他們的衰老速度（包括身體質量指數、血壓和膽固醇水平）。此外，他們還進行了韋氏成人智力四級測試、做了腦磁共振、評估了面部衰老的情況。
After analyzing the data, they compared those participants with the slowest average gait—around 3.9 feet per second—to people with the highest, averaging at about 5.7 feet per second. The results led researchers to an important conclusion: slow gait was associated with "poor physical function at midlife,"
分析數據後，他們將平均走路速度最慢的受試者（每秒約3.9英尺）與走路最快的受試者進行了對比（每秒約5.7英尺），並從對比中得出一項重要結論：走路慢與“中年人身體機能較差”相關。
