研究:握手有力的老人壽命更長

A firm handshake could be a sign of a longer life expectancy, according to British researchers.

Scientists at the Medical Research Council found that elderly people who could still give a firm handshake and walk at a brisk pace were likely to outlive their slower peers.

They found simple measures of physical capability like shaking hands, walking, getting up from a chair and balancing on one leg were related to life span, even after accounting for age, sex and body size. The study is the first to provide a comprehensive view of the existing research by pooling data from 33 studies.

"These measures have been used in population-based research for quite a long time," said Rachel Cooper of the Medical Research Council's Unit for Lifelong Health and Aging. "They may be useful indicators for subsequent health."

Cooper, whose study appears in the British Medical Journal, said more studies are needed to clarify whether the measures would be helpful to doctors as a screening tool. "I wouldn't suggest that we roll them out into clinical practice tomorrow, but it is possible that they could be used in the future," she told Reuters Health.

The researchers examined 33 studies involving tens of thousands of people, most of whom were aged over 60 but living in the community rather than in hospital or care homes.

Of 14 studies dealing with grip strength, the researchers found that those with the strongest hand grasps tended to live longer than those with limp grips.

The death rate over the period of the studies for people with weak handshakes was 67 percent higher than for people with a firm grip.

The slowest walkers were nearly three times more likely to die during the study period than swifter walkers.

The people who were slowest to get up from a chair had about double the mortality rate compared to the quick risers.

"Those people in the general population who have higher physical capability levels are likely to live longer," Cooper said.

英國研究人員稱，握手有力可能意味着更長的壽命。

英國醫學研究委員會的科學家發現，能夠和人有力地握手並能輕快地走路的老人會比走路慢的同輩活得更長。

他們發現，即使把年齡、性別和體型這些因素都考慮在內，一些衡量體力的簡單指標，例如握手、走路、從椅子上站起來，以及單腿平衡，這些行動能力也都與壽命相關。這一研究從33個研究中收集了資料，首次對現有研究進行了綜述。

醫學研究委員會終生健康和老齡化部門的瑞秋•庫柏說：“這些指標早就運用於以人口爲基礎的研究。它們可能對未來的健康狀況具有實用的指示功能。”

庫柏說還需進行更多的研究才能弄清這些指標能否爲醫生提供幫助，成爲有效的篩查手段。她的研究發表在《英國醫學雜誌》上。她告訴路透社健康專欄說：“我不建議我們明天就將它們用於臨牀實踐，但它們有可能在未來會得到運用。”

研究人員考察了33項研究，這些研究涵蓋了數以萬計的人，他們當中的大多數都年逾六十，住在社區裏而非住在醫院或養老院。

其中有14項研究考察的是握力，研究人員發現那些握力最強的人通常比握力弱的人活得更長。

在研究進行期間，握手軟弱無力的人比握手有力的人的死亡率要高出67%。

研究過程中，走路最慢的人死亡的可能性比走路快的人高出近三倍。

那些從椅子上站起來耗時最長的人和很快就能從椅子上站起來的人相比，死亡率幾乎翻了一倍。

庫柏說：“從總體人口來看，體能更強的人長壽的可能性更大。”

Vocabulary:

pool: to collect money, information, etc. from different people so that it can be used by all of them 集中資源（或材料等）

roll out: the official launch of a new product or service 正式推出（新產品）