为什么骨折对老人老说是致命的？
据新闻报道，大法官Ruth Bader Ginsburg摔断了三根肋骨之后住进了医院。但为什么对于老人来说，骨折和其他和摔倒有关的伤害会如此让人担心呢?
Ginsburg, who is 85, fell in her office on Wednesday night (Nov. 7), according to The New York Times. She went home afterward, but felt discomfort and was admitted to the hospital Thursday morning, the Times reported. Doctors found she had broken three ribs on her left side.
《纽约时报》报道说，上周三晚(11月7日)，85岁的Ginsburg在她的办公室里摔倒。之后她回了家，但是感觉到不是很舒服，于是第二天早上去了医院。医生发现她摔断了左侧的三根肋骨。
Fall-related injuries are relatively common among people ages 65 and older, but can be serious or even deadly in this population.
跌倒相关的受伤在65岁及以上的人群中相对常见，但伤情可能很严重甚至会造成死亡。
In particular, broken bones can have serious ramifications for the health of older adults, experts say. A study from Denmark published earlier this year found that broken bones can increase the risk of death up to 25 percent over a one-year period among older adults, and this risk remains high for up to 10 years after the injury.
专家指出，尤其是骨折会对老年人的健康造成严重的后果。一个今年早些时候发表的来自丹麦的研究发现，骨折可以使老年人在1年中的死亡风险上升25%，并且该风险在老年人受伤后的10年中都居高不下。
Broken bones "are more dangerous [in older adults] because of the implications of the fracture itself on the overall condition of the patient," said Dr. Gisele Wolf-Klein, director of geriatric education at Northwell Health in Great Neck, New York, who is not involved in Ginsburg's care.
骨折“在老年人群中更危险，这是因为骨折本身对病人整体健康的影响，”来自纽约大颈的美国犹太保健集团中的老年病教育主管Gisele Wolf-Klein博士表示。
For example, it's not uncommon for older adults with broken bones to need surgery to treat the fracture. And "any surgery with anesthesia is going to create a new challenge for elderly patients," Wolf-Klein told Live Science. Surgery puts stress on the heart, which may be problematic for older adults with heart conditions.
比方说，老人骨折后需要手术治疗很常见。而“任何需要麻醉的手术对于老年病人来说都是一个新挑战，”Wolf-Klein告诉Livescience说。手术会对病人的心脏产生压力，这可能对有心脏病的老年人来说是个挑战。
In addition, surgery and the broken bone itself will lead to older adults being less mobile, or bedridden, which can result in complications, Wolf-Klein said. Such complications include pressure sores from staying in bed, or deconditioning that could make someone even more frail and prone to injury.
此外Wolf-Klein表示，手术和断骨本身都会导致老年人活动不便，或者只能卧床，这就会引起并发症。此类的并发症有由于长期卧床产生的褥疮，或者是让病人更脆弱并且更容易受伤的去适应作用。
Being bedridden can also increase the risk of pneumonia in older adults, particularly those with lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). That's because, when immobilized, these patients are more likely to develop secretions that stay in their lungs, which increase the risk of developing pneumonia, Wolf-Klein said.
老年人长期卧床还会增加肺炎的风险，尤其是那些有着慢性肺阻疾病(COPD)这样肺病的老人。Wolf-Klein解释说，这是因为身体长时间不动，病人的肺中会潴留更多的分泌物，今儿增加了感染肺炎的风险。
Aging itself also slows down the body's recovery period, meaning older adults may spend weeks in the hospital recovering after a fall.
变老也会延长身体的康复周期，意味着老人在摔伤之后或许要在医院里花费数周的时间康复。
Given the serious consequences of falls for older adults, it's important to prevent falls among this population.
鉴于老年人跌倒的严重后果，防止该人群的摔倒是非常重要的。
Ginsburg has faced health challenges before, but has proved to be particularly resilient. In 2012, she broke two ribs without missing work, and she recovered quickly after a heart procedure in 2014, The New York Times reported. She has also beaten two cancer diagnoses – colon cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer in 2009. After her second cancer surgery in 2009, she went back to work less than three weeks later.
Ginsburg之前也面对过健康危机，但结果看来她甚是顽强。据《纽约时报》报道，2012年，断了两根肋骨的她也没缺席工作，而且在2014年接受心脏手术后很快就康复了。两次癌症确诊也没能打败她——1999年的结肠癌和2009年的胰腺癌。在2009年接受了第二次癌症手术之后，不到三周她就又重返岗位了。
