科学美国人60秒：研究表明疼痛和天气没有关系
燕山大学 刘立军 编写
◆TRANSCRIPT
This is Scientific Americans - 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.
Are you one of those people who can tell when a storm is approaching based on your achy knees? Well, you may think you are. But a new study of more than 1.5 million seniors finds no relationship between rainfall and doctor visits for pain. The results are in the British Medical Journal.
The idea that our bodies are barometers for all sorts of weather-related phenomena - including changes in temperature, pressure and precipitation - is not a new one.
"Hippocrates himself actually postulated this idea in nearly 400 B.C." Anupam Jena, a physician and expert in health care policy at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital, who led the study.
"If you talk to people I'd say millions and millions of people probably believe that things like rainfall influence symptoms of joint pain and stiffness. But if you look at the studies there's actually been surprisingly little evidence to suggest that is true. Most of the studies have been quite small. And we were interested in thinking about whether we could approach this question in a 'big data' sort of way."
He and his colleagues looked at information collected in more than 11 million visits that older Americans made to their primary care physicians. They compared these records with data on daily rainfall. And they asked: do more people report sore backs or swollen joints when the weather is inclement?
"And what we found is if you look at days where it rained versus days where it didn't rain, there is no difference in the proportion of visits to a doctor that involved a complaint of joint pain or back pain."
They saw no "rain effect" even when it poured for seven days straight. And if you're thinking, well, what if people couldn't get an appointment until the skies cleared up...
"And if you look the week after a period of heavy rainfall, you still see no relationship. And that doesn't mean that factors like rainfall or temperature or humidity don't affect joint pain and symptoms of joint achiness and stiffness. But in this sort of big data approach, we didn't find any evidence for it."
Of course, it could still be that the pain from rain is not enough to complain. "It could be that patients take over-the-counter pain medications once these symptoms hit, and so when they see their doctor they're not actually in enough pain to mention it." And the casualties of low-pressure fronts simply move on - gingerly.
Thanks for listening for Scientific Americans - 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.
Adapted from http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/201805/553554.shtml
◆VOCABULARY
1. precipitation n. (technical 术语) rain, snow, etc. that falls; the amount of this that falls 降水，降水量（包括雨、雪、冰等）。例如：an increase in annual precipitation年降水量的增加
2. sore back 后背疼
3. swollen joints 关节肿胀
4. inclement adj. (formal) (of the weather 天气) not pleasant; cold, wet, etc. 恶劣的（指寒冷的、潮湿的等）
5. clear up: (of the weather 天气) to become fine or bright 转晴；放晴；变晴朗。例如：I hope it clears up this afternoon. 我希望今天下午天气放晴。
6. humidity n. the amount of water in the air （空气中的）湿度。例如：high / low humidity高 / 低湿度
7. over-the-counter adj. (of drugs and medicines 药品) that can be obtained without a prescription (= a written order from a doctor) 无需处方可买到的；非处方的
8. medication n. a drug or another form of medicine that you take to prevent or to treat an illness 药；药物。例如：
● to be on medication进行药物治疗
● Are you currently taking any medication? 你在服用什么药吗？
● Many flu medications are available without a prescription. 许多流感药不用处方就可以买到。
9. gingerly adv. in a careful way, because you are afraid of being hurt, of making a noise, etc. 谨慎地；小心翼翼地；轻手轻脚地。例如：He opened the box gingerly and looked inside. 他小心翼翼地打开盒子朝里看。
◆QUESTIONS
Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.
(Q1) What’re the new results?
(A) There’s no relationship between rainfall and doctor visits for pain.
(B) There’s some relationship between rainfall and doctor visits for pain.
(C) There’s little evidence to suggest rainfall influence symptoms of joint pain and stiffness.
(D) There’s some evidence to suggest rainfall influence symptoms of joint pain and stiffness.
(Q2) What’s the “big data” of Anupam Jena and his colleague’s study?
(A) Less than 11 million.
(B) More than 11 million.
(C) Less than 1.5 million.
(D) More than 1.5 million.
◆KEY
(Q1) A。细节题。命题出处：But a new study of more than 1.5 million seniors finds no relationship between rainfall and doctor visits for pain. The results are in the British Medical Journal.
(Q2) B。细节题。命题出处：And we were interested in thinking about whether we could approach this question in a 'big data' sort of way." He and his colleagues looked at information collected in more than 11 million visits that older Americans made to their primary care physicians.