研究表明，从事有偿工作的女性在晚年的记忆丧失速度较慢

研究表明，从事有偿工作的女性在晚年的记忆丧失速度较慢

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

一项新的研究表明，从事有偿工作可能会使女性在几十年后免于失忆。

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.

加州大学洛杉矶分校菲尔丁公共卫生学院流行病学助理教授、本次研究的负责人伊丽莎白·罗斯·马耶达说，这是因为有偿工作可能会带来精神刺激、经济利益和社会关系，从而限制女性随着年龄的增长记忆力下降。

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.

女性占美国老年痴呆症患者的近三分之二，研究表明，预防老年痴呆症需要的可能不仅仅是药物或医疗干预。

"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.

马耶达周二在洛杉矶举行的阿尔茨海默氏症协会国际会议上介绍了她的发现。她说，“促进同工同酬、带薪探亲假和负担得起的儿童看护的政策”有一天可能会成为有关女性老年痴呆症的讨论的一部分。

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."

这项研究还处于初步阶段，尚未发表在同行评审的医学杂志上，但阿尔茨海默氏症协会的科学参与主任丽贝卡·埃德尔迈耶说，“中年工作可能确实具有保护作用。”

"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."

“这些年来，女性在工作和家庭中的角色确实发生了巨大的变化，”她补充说，“因此，我们继续研究这些变化的相关性，以及它们如何影响与患阿尔茨海默病的女性的风险，是很重要的。”

The women facing a higher risk

女性面临更高的风险

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.

马耶达的研究小组调查了6000多名出生于1935年至1956年之间的女性，收集了她们50岁之前的家庭和工作经历。从1995年到2016年的20年间，这些女性接受了定期的认知评估。例如，他们被要求回忆单词列表，并填写关于认知能力下降的问卷。

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.

在有工作的母亲和非母亲中，记忆力下降的速度是相似的，但在没有工作的女性中，记忆力下降最快。

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，不工作的已婚母亲的记忆力在10年内比有工作的母亲下降了61%。

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

这种差异在单身母亲身上更为明显:如果她们不参加工作，她们的记忆力下降速度会更快为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.

但马耶达说，不一定要持续工作才能保护记忆力不下降。例如，那些请假照顾孩子但又重新参加工作的已婚母亲，她们的记忆力下降速度仍然较慢。

"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."

马耶达说:“至少在相当长一段时间内从事有偿工作的女性，晚年记忆力下降的速度似乎较慢。”“这并不意味着你必须不停地工作，比如在你20多岁、30多岁和40多岁的时候。”

Workforce offers financial benefits

劳动力提供经济效益

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.

哥伦比亚大学梅尔曼公共卫生学院研究卫生政策和老龄化的教授约翰·罗博士说，有偿工作可能会带来经济效益，而这种经济效益会影响健康。

"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.

罗说:“他们是劳动力，这意味着他们可能有医疗保险，这使他们比没有医疗保险的人更容易获得医疗保健。”

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."

但工作也会让人们走到一起，他说，“很少有工作是你不与他人交流就能得到报酬的。”

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

马耶达说，为女性提供“社会参与”并允许她们通过工作建立“社会网络”可以防止失忆。

"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.

他说:“许多研究表明，参加工作的人比不参加工作的人更健康。”他补充说，这些工作不一定要有报酬，但也可以包括志愿服务。