More than 80 percent of US adults have a less than 10–percent risk of developing heart disease in the next 10 years, according to a report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Just 3 percent have a risk that exceeds 20 percent.
“I hope that these numbers will give physicians, researchers, health policy analysts, and others a better idea of how coronary heart disease is distributed in the US population,” lead author Dr. Earl S. Ford, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention1 in Atlanta, said in a statement.
The findings are based on analysis of data from 13,769 subjects, between 20 and 79 years of age, who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1988 to 1994.
Overall, 82 percent of adults had a risk of less than 10 percent, 15 percent had a risk that fell between 10 to 20 percent, and 3 percent had a risk above 20 percent.
The proportion of subjects in the highest risk group increased with advancing age, and men were more likely than women to be in this group.2 By contrast3, race or ethnicity had little effect on risk distributions.
Although the report suggests that most adults have a low 10–year risk of heart disease, a large proportion have a high or immediate risk4, Dr. Daniel S. Berman, from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and Dr. Nathan D. Wong, from the University of California at Irvine, note in a related editorial.
Aggressive treatment measures and public health strategies are needed to shift the overall population risk downward, they add.
　　注释：
　　1.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:疾病防控中心
2.The proportion of subjects in the highest risk group increased with advancing age, and men were more likely than women to be in this group.实验对象年龄越大,在最高风险组中所占的比例也越大;男人进入该组的可能性亦大于女人。
3.by contrast:对比之下
4.Although the report suggests that most adults have a low 10–year risk of heart disease, a large proportion have a high or immediate risk...: 尽管报告提示大多数成年人十年内患心脏病的风险较低,但是在有风险者中,很大一部分所面临的风险却是很高的或是刻不容缓的……
　　练习：
　　1.The 10–year risk of heart disease is low for most US adults.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
2.Only 3 percent of US adults have a more than 10 percent 10–year risk of heart disease.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
3.More than 100 thousand people participated in the survey.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
4.There was a greater proportion of men than women in the survey.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
5.The distributions of the risk of heart disease are closely related to race.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
6.Elderly people have a higher risk of heart disease than younger people.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
7.The US government will take measures to reduce the overall population risk.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　答案与题解：
1.A文章第一段提到,美国80%以上的成年人未来十年内患心脏病的风险低于10%，而文章第六段进而表明该数字是低的。
2.B文章第四段提到,未来十年内,美国成年人患心脏病的风险高于10%的可分为两类,一类是10%至20%之间的占15%，另一类是20%以上的占3%。
3.B文章第三段提到,有13,769人参加了此次调查,即有一万多人参加了此次调查,而“more than 100 thousand people”表示的是“十万多人”。
4.C文章第五段提到,男人进入最高风险组的概率大于女人,但并没有表明参加此次调查的男性多于女性。
5.B文章第五段提到,种族对患病风险的分布影响很小。
6.A文章第五段提到,年龄越大,进入最高风险组的比例也就越大。
7.C文章第七段提到,研究人员说,只有采取积极的治疗措施和公共卫生政策才能降低所有人群患病的风险概率,但并没有提及美国政府是否会这样做。
译文：在美国大多数成年人有低风险的心脏疾病
根据《美国心脏病学杂志》上的报告，80%以上的美国成年人在今后十年内患心脏病的风险不到10%。只有3%的人患心脏病的风险超过了20%。
来自美国疾病控制中心的第一作者Earl S. Ford博士在一次报告中说：“我希望这些数字能够使外科医生、研究者、卫生政策分析家和其他人更好地了解冠心病在美国人口中的分布状况。”
这些研究结果基于对13769个20岁至79岁的实验对象的数据分析得到的，他们参与了1988年到1994年的第三次全国卫生和营养普查。
总的来说，82%的成年人患心脏病的风险低于10%，15%的人风险在10%-20%之间，3%的人风险高于20%。
实验对象年龄越大，在最高风险组中所占的比例越大;男人进入该组的可能性亦大于女人。对比之下，种族对心脏病风险的分布没有什么作用。
来自洛杉矶的西达——西奈医学中心的Daniel S. Berman博士和来自加利福尼亚大学的Nathan D. wang博士在一个相关的评论中说道，尽管报告显示大多数成年人十年内患心脏病的风险较低，但是在有风险者中，很大一部分所面临的风险却是很高的或是刻不 容缓的。
他们补充说，需要积极的治疗措施和公共卫生政策来使整体人口的患病的风险降低。