VOA慢速英语:Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged Whites with Little Education

A new study from Princeton University economists says white middle-aged Americans without college educations are dying at higher rates.
普林斯顿大学经济学家的一项新研究表明，美国未接受过大学教育的中年白人死亡率较高。
Professors Anne Case and Angus Deaton wrote the study.
安妮·凯斯和安格斯·迪顿教授共同撰写了该项研究。
It finds that men and women older than 45 but younger than retirement age are dying from what one expert calls "deaths of despair." These include deaths from suicide, drug overdose or alcohol-related diseases.
研究发现，45岁至退休年龄前的人，常因一种专家称之为“绝望死亡”的原因死去。这种绝望的死亡包括自杀、服药过量死亡或酒精相关疾病死亡。
They say this is caused by the loss of middle-income jobs for those without a college degree.
他们称，这是因为那些没有大学文凭的人失去了中等收入的工作。
The economists also say that fewer job opportunities have created other problems for this group. The researchers say they are more likely than those with college degrees to be unemployed, unmarried or suffer from poor health.
经济学家还称，工作机会减少给这个群体还带来了其他问题。研究者称，他们比有大学学历的人更容易失业，更容易单身，更容易遭受健康不良的痛苦。
This is a story of the collapse of the white working class, Deaton said in an interview. The labor market has very much turned against them.
“这是一个事关白人工人阶级崩溃的故事，”迪顿在一次采访中说道。“劳动力市场拒绝他们太多次了。”
The study continues research in 2015 that first documented an increase in deaths among middle-aged whites.
2015年，该研究继续进行，首次记录到了中年白人死亡人数的增加。
Case and Deaton found that since 1999, white men and white women ages 45 through 54 have suffered from a sharp increase in "deaths of despair." These include suicides, drug overdoses, and alcohol-related deaths, such as liver failure.
凯斯和迪顿发现，自1999年开始，45到54岁的白人遭遇“绝望死亡”的人数急剧增加。绝望死亡包括自杀、用药过量死亡和诸如肝衰竭等酒精性疾病死亡。
Case and Deaton say in their study that there is a relationship between rising death rates and changes in the job market since the 1970s.
凯斯和迪顿在研究中称，上升的死亡率和20世纪70年代开始的就业市场变化有关。
They said that men without college degrees are less likely to receive better pay over time, a trend "consistent with men moving to lower and lower skilled jobs."
他们说，没有大学学历的男性，随着时间的推移，得到更高工资工作的可能性会越来越小，这种趋势和“男性越来越趋向于做低技能工作的情况一致。”
Other research has found that Americans with only high school educations are less likely to get married or buy a home. They are also more likely to get divorced if they do marry the study says.
其他研究还发现，只有高中学历的美国人结婚或买房的可能性更低。研究还称，如果他们结婚了，他们离婚的可能性也更大。
It’s not just their careers that have gone down the tubes, but their marriage prospects, their ability to raise children, said Deaton.
“不仅他们的事业完全失败，他们婚姻的未来，他们抚养孩子的能力都会走下坡路，”迪顿说。
That’s the kind of thing that can lead people to despair.
“而这些事情就会导致人们变得绝望。”
Angus Deaton won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2015 for using surveys to study how people spend their money and to learn more about their behavior.
安格斯.迪顿获得了2015年诺贝尔经济学奖，因为他用调查的方式来研究人们的消费方式和消费者行为。
The issues identified by Case and Deaton may be causing a change in the trend of improving life expectancies. However, the researchers say it is not clear why these problems are affecting whites more than African-Americans or Hispanics.
凯斯和迪顿发现的问题可能会在延长人类寿命的趋势上引起一些改变。然而，研究者称，现在还不清楚，为什么这些问题对白人的影响要比对非裔或西裔美国人的影响大。
Case and Deaton note that many Hispanics are in a much better situation than their parents or grandparents who were born in another country. This could create a greater sense of optimism.
凯斯和迪顿注意到，现在许多西班牙裔美国人的生活情况，要比他们出生在其他国家的父母或祖父母好。或许这使他们更加乐观。
The professors also added that African-Americans may have become more resilient to economic difficulties because they have a long history of suffering problems in the job market.
教授们还说，非裔美国人可能更能适应经济困境，因为他们在就业市场上有着长期的苦难史。
The researchers also noted that a life expectancy division among people with different education levels is growing. While death rates for middle-aged whites without a college degree are rising, the Princeton professors say the rates for whites with a college education are falling.
研究者也发现，受教育程度不同人群之间的寿命长短差距正在不断扩大。虽然没有大学学历的中年白人死亡率在不断上升，但是普林斯顿大学教授们表示称，受过大学教育的白人死亡率却在下降。
These trends, the researchers say, are found across the United States. West Virginia and Kentucky are reportedly most affected.
研究者表示，这些趋势在全美都有发现。据报道，西弗吉尼亚州和肯塔基州受到的影响最为突出。
However, areas such as the state of Maine, the city of Baltimore and eastern Washington state also appear to show the trends identified in the study.
然而，像是缅因州、巴尔的摩市和华东部华盛顿州的情况，也充分验证了研究中出现的趋势。
The research also found these trends exist in rural areas, in small cities and in some large urban areas.
研究还发现，这些趋势也出现在农村、小城市和某些大城市地区。
Case and Deaton say death rates for middle-aged people in Europe with limited education are falling. And they add that this is the case in most countries.
凯斯和迪顿称，欧洲受教育程度有限的中年人死亡率正在下降。他们还说，大多数国家都是这样。
Case and Deaton also note that government programs to help people with disabilities are not responsible for the increase in middle-aged deaths. Some of these programs, the researchers say, are permitting more Americans to stop working.
凯斯和迪顿注意到政府帮助残疾人的计划并不是导致中年人死亡率上涨的原因。研究者称，这些计划中有一些，甚至是在让更多的美国人失去工作。
They say that social programs in Europe usually provide more benefits than the ones in the U.S. And the researchers say Europe has not seen a similar increase in middle-aged deaths.
他们说，欧洲的社会项目所带来的福利，通常比美国的社会项目多。并且研究者称，欧洲国家中年人的死亡率并没有出现类似升高的情况。
Case and Deaton say that changing these trends could take years. To help prevent middle-aged deaths, they say, doctors should cut back on providing opium-based pain drugs to patients.
凯斯和迪顿说，改变这种趋势需要花很多年时间。为阻止中年人死亡，他们说，需要医生减少向病人提供含有鸦片的止痛药。
The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. It also appears on the website of The Brookings Institution, a public policy organization.
此研究发表在《美国国家科学院学报》上。同时也刊登在公共政策研究组织布鲁金斯学会的网站上。
I’m Phil Dierking.
我是菲尔·迪尔金。