Depression may double dementia risk, say researchers 研究人員說，憂鬱症或加倍失智風險

 ◎國際新聞中心
Having depression may nearly double the risk of developing dementia later in life, new research suggests.
憂鬱症可能讓晚年罹患失智症的風險增加將近一倍，新研究顯示。
Experts know that the two conditions often co-exist, but it is not clear if one actually leads to the other.
專家知道憂鬱症和失智症這兩種疾病通常共存，但不清楚是否真的是一種疾病會導致 另一種。
Now two studies published in the American journal Neurology suggest depression does mean dementia is more likely, although they do not show why. And the researchers stress that the findings merely reveal a link, not a direct cause. They say more studies are needed to find out why the two conditions are linked.
現在兩份刊登在美國期刊《神經學》的研究顯示， 憂鬱症確實代表比較容易失智，不過研究並未說明原因。研究人員強調，研究結果只是顯示關聯而非直接原因，他們說，還需要更多研究，來找出兩種疾病相關的原 因。
They believe brain chemistry and lifestyle factors like diet and the amount of social time a person engages in may play a role. Dr Jane Saczynski of the University of Massachusetts, who led the first of the two studies, said："While it’s unclear if depression causes dementia, there are a number of ways depression might impact the risk of dementia.
他們相信，大腦化學物質與生活型態因子，像是飲食與一個人的社交時間，可能有影響。領導兩份研究中第一份研究的麻薩諸塞 大學薩欽斯基博士說：「雖然不清楚憂鬱症是否造成失智，但憂鬱症可能從很多方面影響失智症風險。」
新聞辭典
stress：動詞／名詞，強調。例句：During his speech, he laid particular stress on the freedom of the press.（他在演講中特別強調言論的自由。）
merely：副詞，只是。例句：I wasn’t complaining, I merely said that I was tired.（我不是抱怨，我只是說我累了。）
cause：名詞，原因。例句：The police are still trying to establish the cause of the fire.（警方仍在試著了解這起火災的原因。）