Working in a consistently noisy environment such as a factory more than doubles the risk of serious heart problems, research suggests. In the under-50s, the risk increases to fourfold, the study warns, and young male smokers are also particularly affected by noise.

　　新研究发现，在噪音大的工作环境（比如工厂）中工作使得患心脏上的疾病机率增加2倍，而50岁左右的人因“噪音”患病的机率可以达到普通人的4倍。研究者警告，噪音会对男性吸烟者产生巨大影响。

　　The U.S. team studied more than 6,000 employees over a five-year period, dividing them into those who endured persistent loud noise at work for at least three months and those who did not. Deadly combination: Working in a constantly noisy environment can double the risk of serious heart problems, a new study has found. It also found that those who work in noisy environments are more likely to smoke They found those in noisy environments tended to weigh and smoke more than those who worked in quiet offices, reports the British Medical Journal.

　　研究者把6000名职工分成2组。A组的人在噪音环境工作至少达3个月以上，B组的人则在安静的环境下工作。实验发现，A组的人患心脏病的机率较高，吸烟的频率更高，而且在噪音环境工作的人难得容易产生体重过胖方面的问题。

　　The authors say: ‘Loud noise day after day may be as strong an external stressor as sudden strong emotion or physical exertion, the effect of which is to prompt various chemical messengers to constrict blood flow through the coronary arteries.‘This study suggests that excess noise exposure in the workplace is an important occupational health issue.’

　　有英国医疗杂志的作者说，日复一日在“分贝高”的环境中工作，会让人的神经长期受到紧张性刺激，这种刺激与物理上的刺激或者情感上巨大刺激对人造成的伤害一样强烈。这种影响会促使化学元素压缩在冠状动脉中流通的血液。噪音大的工作环境早已经成为现代白领患上“职业病”的诱发因素。

　　June Davison of the British Heart Foundation said: ‘Some people find sustained noise very taxing and stressful and that could explain this link between noisy workplaces and an increased risk of heart disease.

　　研究者说，有一些人如果在“分贝高”的环境中工作时间长了会觉得压力非常大，精神紧张，这可以进一步解释了“噪音”增加心脏病风险的结论。

Vocabulary:

　　stressor n. 紧张性刺激；光彩