囧研究：失去最愛的人危險有多大？你想象不到..

In the three-month period following a spouse's death, widows and widowers are more likely to exhibit risk factors linked to cardiovascular illness and death, according to a new study.

一項新研究指出，配偶去世後的三個月裏，喪偶的人更可能表現出與心血管疾病或死亡有關的風險因素。

This could make a bereaved spouse more likely to "die of a broken heart," the researchers say.

這會使喪偶的人更可能“死於心碎”，研究人員說道。

The study found that individuals who have lost a spouse within the last three months have higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and lower heart rate variability (HRV) compared with non-bereaved individuals who share the sex, age, body mass index, and educational level.

研究發現，當人們的性別、年齡、體質指數和受教育程度相同的時候，與那些沒有失去配偶的人相比，在最近三個月裏喪偶的人有更高濃度的致炎細胞因子和更低的心率變動水平。

Both are factors that increase an individual's risk for cardiac events, including death. The study is the first to demonstrate that bereavement is associated with elevated levels of ex vivo cytokines and lower HRV.

這兩種因素都會增加一個人罹患心臟病或死亡的風險。該研究首次證明，喪親與更高水平的體外細胞因子及更低的心率變動水平有關。

The 32 recently bereaved individuals who participated in the study exhibited 47 percent lower levels of HRV than the 33 people in the control group. The bereaved individuals exhibited 7 percent higher levels of TNF-alpha (one type of cytokine) and 5 percent higher levels of IL-6 (another type of cytokine) than the control group.

與對照組的33人相比，參與研究的32名最近喪偶的人，其心率變動水平要低47%，而且其體內TNF-alpha（一種細胞因子）的含量要高7%，IL-6（另一種細胞因子）的含量要高5%。

Fagundes says the study adds to a growing understanding of how bereavement can affect heart health.

法貢德斯表示，這項研究使人們更加了解喪失親人會如何影響心臟健康。

He hopes the research will help medical professionals better understand the biological mechanisms triggered by bereavement and allow for the creation of targeted psychological and/or pharmacological interventions to reduce or prevent the toll of a "broken heart."

他希望這一研究會幫助醫學專家更好地理解喪失親人所引起的生物機理，使他們可以研究出有針對性的心理和/或藥理干預方法以減少或防止“心碎”導致的傷亡。

"Although not every bereaved individual is at the same risk for cardiac events, it is important to point out that the risk exists," Fagundes says. "In our future work, we seek to identify which widows/widowers are at greatest risk, and which are resilient to the negative physiological consequences of bereavement."

“雖然並不是每一個喪偶的人都面臨着同樣的罹患心臟病的風險，但指明這種風險的存在很重要，”法貢德斯說道。“在我們未來的工作中，我們要設法確認哪種喪失配偶的人面臨着最大的風險，哪些人能從喪親的負面心理影響中恢復過來。”

（翻譯：Dlacus）