If a man wants to live a long life, he should marry an intelligent woman, according to scientists. Dementia experts said that having an intelligent partner can act as “buffer” to the disease.

By studying the health of identical twins, they concluded that a person’s environment can seriously affect their chance of developing dementia. People who had physical signs of the disease showing up on their brain scans but developed no symptoms were generally “highly intelligent” and “in high-powered jobs” with “a lot of money in the bank,” the scientists claimed.

During a talk called Dementia: How Can We Protect Ourselves?, Professor Lawrence Whalley, emeritus professor of mental health in the College of Medicine and Life Sciences at the University of Aberdeen, said, “The thing a boy is never told he needs to do if he wants to live a longer life — but what he should do — is marry an intelligent woman. There is no better buffer than intelligence.”

A series of studies have found that intellectual stimulation that keeps the brain active can help to stave off the symptoms of dementia.

Previous research has focused on the benefits of activities like doing crosswords, reading and visiting museums, but Professor Whalley’s comments suggest that having a partner who provides interesting and challenging conversation could also help prevent Alzheimer’s. However the death of a family member when you are only a child can increase your chance of developing the disease 80 years on, the audience at the Oxford Literary Festival heard.

Professor Whalley explained, “Studies have shown that the death of a mother before the age of 5 is a very important risk factor for dementia in later life.

“But positive parenting as a child, a longer time in education and a good childhood environment all have a huge buffering effect against dementia 70 or 80 years later.

“Environmental factors in your childhood, such as your father’s job status, have an effect, as does your mother’s diet during pregnancy. Your childhood IQ, your job income, your educational attainments all have an effect in later life.”

科学家称，男人要想长寿，就得娶个聪明的老婆。痴呆症专家说，聪明的伴侣就如“缓冲器”，可以延缓疾病发生。

通过对同卵双胞胎健康状况的研究，他们得出结论认为，一个人所处的环境可以极大地影响患老年痴呆的几率。

科学家称，有的人的脑部扫描显示他们在生理上已经有痴呆症的迹象了，却没有表现出任何症状，这种人通常都“非常聪

明”、“身居要职”、有“很多银行存款”。在一个叫做“痴呆症：我们该怎样保护自

己？”的谈话节目中，英国阿伯丁大学医学与生命科学学院精神健康方面的荣誉教授劳伦斯•沃利说：“想要长寿的话，男孩需要知道也该做的一件事，就是娶个聪明的老

婆。只可惜没人告诉过他。没有什么延缓衰老的东西比高智商更有效。”

一系列研究结果显示，智力的激发不仅可以保持大脑活力，还有助于延缓痴呆症发作。之前的研究主要集中在一些活动的益处上，比如填字游戏、阅读、逛博物馆，但沃利教授的话启示我们，拥有一个可以进行有趣且富有挑战性对话的伴侣，也有利于预防老年痴呆。

听众们在牛津文化节上还听说，在孩提时代遭遇亲人死亡也会增加80岁时患痴呆症的几率。沃利教授解释称：“研究表明，五岁之前母亲去世，老年患痴呆的风险更大。”

“但童年时期得到良好的抚育，上学时间较长，和一个良好的成长环境，都可以起到巨大的缓冲作用，降低七八十年以后患痴呆症的几率。童年的环境因素，比如你父亲的职业地位，以及你母亲孕期的饮食，都会影响你今后的健康状况。你童年时的智商、工作后的收入和接受教育的水平都对日后的生活有影响。”

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

   【缓冲】huǎnchōng buffer a person or thing that protects against annoyance, harm, hostile forces, etc., or that lessens the impact of a shock or reversal

    【痴呆】chīdāi dementia severe impairment or loss of intellectual capacity due to the loss of or damage to neurons in the brain