Aging eyes bring more than crow's feet and wrinkles. It's what you can't see -- the health of your eyes -- that is the bigger concern, doctors say. By the age of 40, many people may begin coping with vision problems they didn't have before. These might include dry eyes and presbyopia, or an inability to focus on objects that are close up, and can leave people feeling fatigued and headachy by the end of the workday. Genetics largely determines how our eyes age. But new research suggests that nutrition and environment can lessen some of the risks to eye health and vision.
眼睛老化带来的不止是鱼尾纹和皱纹。医生说，人们无法直接看见的东西──你双眼的健康──才是更令人担忧的事。很多人到了40岁的年纪可能就得开始应对视力问题，而这些是他们之前从未遇到过的。这些毛病包括干眼病和老花眼，后者的症状是近距离视物困难，可能会让人在一天工作结束时感到疲劳和头痛。我们的双眼如何老化在很大程度上是由遗传决定的。但新研究表明，良好的营养和环境能减少眼睛健康和视力所面临的风险。
As people get older, 'The lens of your eye gradually loses the ability to focus in and out the way it used to,' said Julia Haller, ophthalmologist-in-chief at Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia. 'Some people refuse to wear reading glasses . . . and really fight it. They may hold out a little longer but eventually we all succumb to the inevitable.'
费城威尔斯眼科医院(Wills Eye Hospital)首席眼科医师茱莉亚•哈勒(Julia Haller)说，随着年纪的增长，“你眼睛的晶状体会逐渐丧失过去那种聚焦调节的功能。有些人拒绝佩戴老花镜……并与之斗争。你的双眼可能会再坚持一段时间，但最终，我们所有人都得向这一必然趋势低头”。
While we can't win against Mother Nature, some strategies can minimize the damage. Avoid self-prescribing with, say, off-the-shelf reading glasses sold at drugstores, says Gary Etting, an optometrist who specializes in vision therapy in Los Angeles. People often select glasses that appear to make things clearest, he said. But this may be a stronger prescription than they need, which can encourage their loss of focus to go faster.
虽然我们不能战胜自然规律，但有些措施能减少我们受到的损害。洛杉矶专攻视觉治疗的验光师加里•埃廷(Gary Etting)说，不要进行自我诊断，说什么药店里就有现成的老花镜出售。他说人们常常挑选那些貌似让视线变得最清晰的眼镜。但这种选择对他们的实际需求而言可能是一种过强的处方，会加速他们聚焦能力的丧失。
Also, glasses you need for reading may be different than ones you need when using a computer, he said. 'So people who wear their reading glasses on the computer can also be encouraging their eyes to weaken faster.'
埃廷说，此外，你阅读时需要佩戴的眼镜和你用电脑时要戴的眼镜可能并不一样。“所以那些在用电脑时却佩戴读书镜的人也是在导致眼睛加速弱化。”
Scientists have been studying ways to prevent vision problems in young people, which also might help protect eyes as they age. Two studies published in the May issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, suggest that spending time outdoors may help minimize or prevent nearsightedness, or myopia, in children. Myopia can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. But it can also be a precursor to severe myopia in adulthood, which is linked to the later development of eye disorders such as glaucoma and retinal detachment.
科学家一直在研究帮助年轻人预防视力问题的方法，这些方法可能在人们老了的时候也有助于护眼。在五月刊的美国眼科学会(American Academy of Ophthalmology)杂志《眼科学》(Ophthalmology)上发表了论文的两项研究表明，户外活动可能有助于儿童预防近视或缓解近视症状。近视眼可以通过佩戴框架眼镜或隐形眼镜得到矫正，但近视也会成为成年后高度近视的先兆，而高度近视又与日后的青光眼、视网膜脱落等眼疾的形成息息相关。
One of the studies, involving 571 students in Taiwan, compared changes in eyesight over a year between a group of children that had outside recess and another that didn't require going outdoors. The other study, in Denmark, compared detailed eye measurements of 235 nearsighted children taken during periods of longer and shorter days.
其中一项研究比较了两组儿童一年中的视力变化情况，其中一组儿童进行了户外休息，而另一组却没被要求这样做，共有571名台湾学生参与了这一研究。另一项研究在丹麦进行，比较了235名近视儿童的各项眼睛参数，这些参数是在日长各异的不同时期测得的。
Some researchers believe the effect could be related to oxygen exposure or the amount of light exposure causing the pupil to constrict. It could also result from children focusing at far distances for extended periods. 'I think the conclusion we're most comfortable drawing is that the jury is still out on that,' said Rachel Bishop, chief of consult services of the National Eye Institute, who wasn't affiliated with the studies. Other possible reasons, such as greater physical activity when outside or less time spent looking at screens indoors, seem less likely, she said.
一些研究人员相信，户外活动产生的影响可能与氧暴露或光照量相关，光照会令人的瞳孔收缩。这种影响的产生也可能是因为孩子们远眺的时间延长了。美国国家眼科研究所(National Eye Institute)咨询服务主管雷切尔•毕夏普(Rachel Bishop)说：“我认为，目前我们得出的最令人欣慰的结论就是：一切都尚无定论。”她还说，其他一些可能的原因，比如在户外进行了强度较大的身体活动或在室内盯着屏幕看的时间减少了，似乎更不可能成立。毕夏普并未参与上述两项研究。
Being outdoors also presents risks. Ultraviolet-light exposure potentially causes melanoma and contributes to the development of cataracts. Damaging rays from the sun are cumulative, so experts recommend wearing protective sunglasses and hats starting at a young age. Howard Purcell, an optometrist and senior vice president of customer development at Dallas-based Essilor of America, a manufacturer of optical lenses, says sunglasses should block UV light. Look for sunglasses with an eye-sun protection factor (E-SPF) between 25 and 50, he said.
呆在户外也会面临着风险。紫外线照射可能会引发黑色素瘤并助长白内障的形成。太阳长年累月地发出有害射线，因此专家们建议，人们从小就该戴上防护性太阳镜和太阳帽。总部设在达拉斯的依视路美国公司(Essilor of America)是一家光学镜片生产商，该公司客户拓展部高级副总裁、验光师霍华德•珀塞尔(Howard Purcell)说，太阳镜必须要能够阻挡紫外线。他说，要挑选那些镜片防晒系数(E-SPF)在25到50之间的太阳镜。
Many eye-vitamin formulations currently on the market are based on research conducted by the National Institutes of Health in a project called Age-Related Eye Disease Study, or AREDS. The first phase of the clinical trial, completed in 2001, found that a specific combination of vitamins C and E, along with beta-carotene and zinc, reduced the risk of age-related macular degeneration by as much as 25%. AMD is one of the leading causes of blindness in older people.
目前市面上许多护眼维生素配方都是基于美国国立卫生研究院(National Institutes of Health)进行的一项研究制成的，该研究是一个名为年龄相关性眼病研究(Age-Related Eye Disease Study,简称AREDS)的项目的内容，其临床试验的第一个阶段于2001年完成。研究人员在该阶段发现，维生素C、维生素E按某种比例的配方组合加上β-胡萝卜素和锌将年龄相关性黄斑变性发病风险减少了25%。年龄相关性黄斑变性是老年人致盲的主要原因之一。
In the second phase of AREDS, to be published in this month's Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers identified additional nutritional supplements -- the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, found in foods such as spinach, kale and broccoli -- that further reduce the risk and progression of AMD, especially when a person's diet is already low in these nutrients. The study found a similar beneficial effect for people with cataracts who don't normally get a lot of lutein and zeaxanthin in their diet.
在年龄相关性眼病研究的第二个阶段，研究人员确定了额外的营养补充元素──菠菜、甘蓝菜和西兰花等蔬菜中富含的叶黄素和玉米黄质──它们能进一步减少年龄相关性黄斑变性的发病风险、减缓病情，尤其是对饮食中上述营养素含量本来很低的人群更有效。该研究发现，这些营养素对那些日常饮食中缺乏叶黄素和玉米黄质的白内障患者有着相似的积极作用。这一研究成果发表在五月刊的《美国医学会杂志》(Journal of the American Medical Association)上。
The latest part of the study, which involved about 4,000 participants, also looked at the effect of replacing beta-carotene in the supplements formulation with lutein and zeaxanthin because of studies that found former smokers who take beta-carotene have a higher incidence of lung cancer. Researchers found a 20% improvement in progression to advanced AMD with the replacement, said Emily Chew, deputy director of epidemiology and clinical application for the National Eye Institute, a branch of the National Institutes of Health.
这项研究的最后一部分共涉及约4,000名参与者，它探讨了用叶黄素和玉米黄质来代替补充配方中β-胡萝卜素的影响，因为众多研究表明，曾经是烟民的人摄入β-胡萝卜素后，罹患肺癌的风险会更高。美国国家眼科研究所流行病学与临床应用部门副主任埃米莉•周(Emily Chew)说，研究人员发现，在服用替代营养素后，有20%的患者病变至年龄相关性黄斑变性晚期的过程有所改善。美国国家眼科研究所是美国国立卫生研究院的一个分支机构。
Dr. Chew said the AREDS study researchers recommend replacing the beta-carotene in supplements with lutein and zeaxanthin. Benefits from the supplements have been found only in people who are at high risk for advanced AMD or already have it in one eye.
周博士说，年龄相关性眼病研究的工作人员建议用叶黄素和玉米黄质来替代补充配方中的β-胡萝卜素。但该配方的益处仅仅只在那些晚期年龄相关性黄斑变性高发人群或者已有一只眼患上此疾的病人身上显现。
Some eye experts say omega-3s, found commonly in fish and nuts, appear to play a protective role in eye health with both the retina and cornea. This includes help with the dry eyes that many people, especially women, experience in their 50s. Anne Sumers, a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a practicing ophthalmologist in Ridgewood, N.J., said consuming flax seed, either as a pill or sprinkled on food, can help treat dry eyes.
一些眼科专家说，常见于鱼类和坚果中的Ω-3脂肪酸看来能对包括视网膜和角膜在内的眼部健康起到保护作用，包括对干眼病也有帮助。许多人在进入50岁后就易患上干眼病，尤其是女性。美国眼科学会(American Academy of Ophthalmology)发言人、新泽西州瑞吉伍德市(Ridgewood)执业眼科医师安妮•苏美尔(Anne Sumers)说，进食亚麻籽，不论是吃药片还是把亚麻籽撒在食物上吃，都有助于治疗干眼病。
Too much time staring at electronic screens has given rise to another problem: computer-vision syndrome. To relax the eyes, some experts recommend that for every 20 minutes spent staring at a computer, people should take a break for 20 seconds and look at least 20 feet away, ideally out a window.
长时间盯着电子屏幕看也引发了另一个问题：电脑视觉综合症。一些专家建议，为了放松双眼，人们在盯着电脑工作的时候，应该每隔20分钟就休息20秒、并远眺至少20英尺，最好是看看窗外。
The decision to go to an optometrist versus an ophthalmologist is a personal one. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who spend most of their time managing eye diseases and performing surgeries rather than prescribing eyeglasses. Optometrists' main focus is prescribing eyeglasses, as well as screening for eye diseases. If getting an eye checkup, be sure -- particularly if you're 40 and over -- that the optometrist does a comprehensive dilated eye exam to observe the pupil opened up in order to see the retina.
至于到底是去看验光师还是眼科医生，这就看个人选择了。眼科医师是医学博士，他们将大部分时间都花在治眼疾、做手术上而非配眼镜上。验光师则专注于校配眼镜，他们也负责检查眼疾。如果想要进行一次眼科检查──尤其是如果你已年届40或年过40的话──那一定要验光师实施全面的散瞳眼底检查，即观察放大后的瞳孔以检查视网膜的情况。