翻译：Gilbert

研究表明，同那些看起来比实际年龄更大的人相比，有幸拥有年轻面孔的人更有可能长寿。

丹麦科学家称，他们研究了387对双胞胎以后发现，仅凭外貌就可以预测人的寿命。

研究人员询问了护士、培训师以及同行，让他们根据双胞胎的头像照片猜测双胞胎的年龄。

《英国医学杂志》报道，那些被人们认为看起来年轻的人往往比他们那些看起来老成的兄弟姐妹长寿。

寿命优势

针对研究结果，研究人员还发现一种看似合理的生物学解释。

DNA的关键部分染色体端粒，能够显示细胞复制的能力，同样与一个人相貌的年轻程度有关。

人们认为，长度较短的染色体端粒表示老化速度更快，并且与一系列疾病有关。

研究中那些看起来更加年轻的人拥有较长的染色体端粒。

这些双胞胎在拍照时，全都是70岁到90岁不等的高龄。

在南丹麦大学卡尔·克里斯腾森的带领下，研究人员进行了长达七年的后续研究。结果发现，一对双胞胎的表象年龄差距越大，那么其中看起来更老的那一个更可能早逝。

评价人员的年龄、性别、职业背景对结果不会产生任何影响。

克里斯腾森教授说，也许生活更加艰难的人更容易早逝——而他们的生活情况则会反映在他们的相貌上。

研究人员在接受《英国医学杂志》采访时说，“表象年龄被临床医生作为评估病人健康状况的一般性指标。对于那些年过七旬的老年人来说，表象年龄是预测他们寿命的一套有力的衰老程度生物学指标。”

英国专家蒂姆·斯派克特一直在从事自己的双胞胎研究。他说，“我们在研究中也发现了这一点。可能是基因外加环境对一个人的寿命影响很大。”

他说发现结果还表明，人们善于评估一个人的健康状况。作为医生，应该仔细打量他们的病人。

他说，“如果一名病人看起来比实际年龄更大，那么他们可能应该更加小心了。”

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People who look young for their age 'live longer'

People blessed with youthful faces are more likely to live to a ripe old age than those who look more than their years, work shows.

Danish scientists say appearance alone can predict survival, after they studied 387 pairs of twins.

The researchers asked nurses, trainee teachers and peers to guess the age of the twins from mug shots.

Those rated younger-looking tended to outlive their older-looking sibling, the British Medical Journal reports.

Survival advantage

The researchers also found a plausible biological explanation for their results.

Key pieces of DNA called telomeres, which indicate the ability of cells to replicate, are also linked to how young a person looks.

A telomere of shorter length is thought to signify faster ageing and has been linked with a number of diseases.

In the study, the people who looked younger had longer telomeres.

All of the twins were in their 70s, 80s or 90s when they were photographed.

Over a seven-year follow-up the researchers, led by Professor Kaare Christensen of the University of Southern Denmark, found that the bigger the difference in perceived age within a pair, the more likely it was that the older-looking twin died first.

The age, sex and professional background of the assessors made no difference to any of the results.

Professor Christensen said it might be that people who have had a tougher life are more likely to die early - and their life is reflected in their face.

The researchers told the BMJ: "Perceived age, which is widely used by clinicians as a general indication of a patient's health, is a robust biomarker of ageing that predicts survival among those aged over 70."

Professor Tim Spector, a UK expert who has been doing his own twin research, said: "We are also finding this in our study.

"It's probably a combination of genes plus environment over a lifetime that are important."

He said the findings also show that people are good at assessing how well someone is and that doctors should eyeball their patients.

"If a patient looks older than their years then perhaps they should be more concerned," he said.