怀孕也要挑“吉日”

时间：2007-05-12 03:00:05

（单词翻译:单击）

The time of year a woman conceives may influence the future academic performance of her child, according to research reported this week at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting.

When researchers linked standardized1 test scores of 1,667,391 Indiana students in grades 3 through 10 with the month in which each student had been conceived, they found that children conceived May through August scored significantly lower on math and language tests than children conceived during other months of the year.

The correlation2 between test scores and conception season held regardless of race, gender3, and grade level.

Why might this be? According to Dr. Paul Winchester of Indiana University School of Medicine who led the study, the evidence points to environmental pesticides4, used most often in the summer months, as a possible player.

The lower test scores correlated with higher levels of pesticides and nitrates in the surface water (nearby streams and other bodies of water) during that same time period, he told Reuters Health.

"Exposure to pesticides and nitrates can alter the hormonal5 milieu6 of the pregnant mother and the developing fetal brain," Winchester explained in a statement. For example, past research has linked exposure to pesticides and nitrates to low thyroid hormone7 levels ("hypothyroidism") in pregnant women and hypothyroidism in pregnancy8 has been tied to lower intelligence test scores in offspring.

While the current findings do not prove that pesticides and nitrates contribute to lower test scores, "they strongly support such a hypothesis," Winchester said.

"A priori there should be no reasons particularly why the month of conception should change your (test) scores," he added in an interview, "and yet from our chain of evidence our hypothesis was that if pesticides do alter the friendly environment of the developing fetus9 than that might be reflected in lower scores. And unfortunately that's what we found."

"There is something going on" and it needs to be studied further, Winchester concluded.

在本周举行的"儿科学术协会年会"上，一项研究报告称，母亲怀孕的月份可能会影响孩子以后的学业成绩。

研究人员对印地安那州1,667,391名3到10年级学生的统一考试成绩和他们的受孕月份进行了相关分析。结果发现，与其它月份受孕的孩子相比，5月至8月受孕的孩子的数学和语言成绩要低得多。

考试成绩与受孕季节这一相互关系不受种族、性别和年级的影响。

该如何解释这一结论？本研究的带头人、印第安纳大学医学院的保罗·温彻斯特博士说，罪魁祸首有可能是空气中的杀虫剂，这些杀虫剂在夏季使用得比较多。

他在接受路透社健康部的采访时说，考试低分与地表水（附近的小溪和其它水体）中含量过高的杀虫剂和硝酸盐有关。

温彻斯特解释说，"接触杀虫剂和硝酸盐会使孕妇体内的荷尔蒙环境发生改变，从而影响胎儿的大脑发育。"比如，以往的研究发现，孕妇体内甲状腺激素含量低（甲状腺机能减退）与接触杀虫剂和硝酸盐有关，而怀孕期间甲状腺机能减退又与孩子智商低有关。

尽管目前的研究不能证明杀虫剂和硝酸盐导致考试低分，但是，温彻斯特说，"它们为这一假设提供了有力的支持。"

他在采访中补充道，"我们是这样推理的，既然没有特别的原因来解释受孕的月份影响考试成绩这件事，那么根据一系列的证据，我们假设如果杀虫剂确实影响胎儿成长的良好环境，那么这种影响也许会导致考试低分。不幸的是，这正是我们通过研究发现的。"

温彻斯特最后总结到，"这其中还有一些影响因素"有待进一步的研究。
 

 

 

Vocabulary:   

conceive: To become pregnant（怀孕）

hypothyroidism: 甲状腺机能减退 

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1 standardized 8hHzgs     
adj.标准化的
参考例句：
  • We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
  • The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。
2 correlation Rogzg     
n.相互关系，相关，关连
参考例句：
  • The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first.第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。
  • A high correlation exists in America between education and economic position.教育和经济地位在美国有极密切的关系。
3 gender slSyD     
n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性
参考例句：
  • French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
  • Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。
4 pesticides abb0488ed6905584ea91347395a890e8     
n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物
参考例句：
  • vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
  • There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 hormonal Fcpx6     
adj.激素的
参考例句：
  • Some viral diseases are more severe during pregnancy, probably tecause of hormonal changes. 有些病毒病在妊娠期间比较严重，可能是由于激素变化引起的。
  • She underwent surgical intervention and a subsequent short period of hormonal therapy. 他接受外科手术及随后短暂荷尔蒙治疗。
6 milieu x7yzN     
n.环境；出身背景；(个人所处的)社会环境
参考例句：
  • Foods usually provide a good milieu for the persistence of viruses.食品通常为病毒存续提供了一个良好的栖身所。
  • He was born in a social milieu where further education was a luxury.他生在一个受较高教育就被认为是奢侈的社会环境里。
7 hormone uyky3     
n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌
参考例句：
  • Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
  • This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
8 pregnancy lPwxP     
n.怀孕，怀孕期
参考例句：
  • Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
  • Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。
9 fetus ekHx3     
n.胎，胎儿
参考例句：
  • In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
  • No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。

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