ADHD病例的增加引发疑问
📖 逐句对照翻译
Allison Burk’s daughter was struggling.
艾莉森·伯克的女儿正苦苦挣扎。
The American teenager had uncontrolled emotions, a decreased ability to pay attention and trouble completing work on time.
这位美国青少年情绪失控，注意力难以集中，并且难以按时完成工作任务。
A family doctor suggested testing for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.
一位家庭医生建议进行注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）的检测。
This led to an unexpected discovery: The teen had ADHD, and her mother, Allison Burk, did too.
这导致了一个意外的发现：这名青少年患有多动症，她的母亲艾莉森·伯克也是如此。
During her daughter’s testing, Burk thought, “Wait a minute. This sounds familiar.”
在女儿接受测试期间，伯克心想：“等等，这听起来很熟悉。”
“I was able to piece together that this might be something I was experiencing,” said Burk, who lives in Columbus, Ohio.
“我能够拼凑出这可能是我正在经历的事情，”住在俄亥俄州哥伦布市的伯克说。
She sought testing for herself and was diagnosed with ADHD — at 42 years old.
她为自己寻求了检测，并在42岁时被诊断出患有注意力缺陷多动障碍。
More adults are being diagnosed with ADHD.
越来越多的成年人被诊断出患有多动症。
Diagnoses have been rising for at least 20 years but seem to have increased sharply in the last few years.
至少20年来，诊断率持续上升，但过去几年似乎急剧增加。
A recent government study suggested that more than 15 million adults in the United States — about 1 in 17 — have been diagnosed with ADHD.
一项近期的政府研究表明，美国有超过1500万成年人——大约每17人中有1人——被诊断患有注意力缺陷多动障碍。
The condition starts in childhood, but about half of adults with ADHD are diagnosed when they are 18 or older.
这种病症始于童年，但约半数患有多动症的成年人是在18岁或之后才被诊断出来的。
Some doctors say the number of people seeking ADHD testing is sharply increasing.
一些医生说，寻求ADHD检测的人数正在急剧增加。
“Just in our clinic, requests for assessments have doubled in the last two years,” said Justin Barterian.
贾斯汀·巴特瑞安表示：“仅在我们的诊所，过去两年内评估请求就翻了一番。”
He is a psychologist based at Ohio State University.
他是俄亥俄州立大学的一名心理学家。
Signs of ADHD in adults
成人多动症的迹象
ADHD makes it hard for people to pay attention and control their behaviors.
注意力缺陷多动障碍使人们难以集中注意力和控制自己的行为。
The disorder can be genetic.
这种疾病可能是遗传性的。
Doctors often treat the disorder with drugs, behavioral therapy, or both.
医生通常用药物、行为疗法或两者兼用来治疗这种疾病。
Judy Sandler is 62 years old and lives in the U.S. state of Maine.
朱迪·桑德勒62岁，住在美国缅因州。
She was diagnosed in her 50s.
她在50多岁时被诊断出患有此病。
Sandler describes what ADHD feels like for her.
桑德勒描述了她对多动症的感受。
“It’s like there’s an engine in you and you feel like it’s always running, and you can’t turn it off except with medication,” Sandler said.
桑德勒说：“就好像你体内有一台发动机，你感觉它一直在运转，除非吃药，否则你没法把它关掉。”
ADHD has been called the most commonly diagnosed mental health disorder in American children.
注意缺陷多动障碍被称为美国儿童中最常被诊断出的心理健康障碍。
More than 7 million children in the U.S. have been diagnosed.
在美国，已有超过700万名儿童被诊断出患有此病。
The disorder was once thought to be something that resolved as children became adults.
这种障碍曾被认为会随着孩子长大成人而自行消失。
But now, experts say they believe that many people are not diagnosed as kids and that the disorder continues into adulthood.
但现在，专家表示，他们认为许多人在儿童时期并未被诊断出此病，而且这种疾病会持续到成年期。
Adults with the condition talk about having trouble focusing on immediate responsibilities and planning their time.
患有这种疾病的成年人表示，他们难以专注于眼前的责任和规划时间。
Some say the disorder has led to problems in their personal relationships.
有人说这种障碍导致了他们个人关系中的问题。
Diagnoses have been rising
诊断数量一直在上升
Diagnoses have been increasing in both kids and adults.
儿童和成人的诊断数量都在增加。
The recent government report also found adult ADHD was more common than earlier estimates had suggested.
最近的政府报告还发现，成人ADHD比早先估计的更为常见。
“We haven’t had (federal) adult ADHD data in a long time,” said Angelika Claussen.
安杰莉卡·克劳森说：“我们已经很久没有（联邦）成人注意力缺陷多动障碍的数据了。”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researcher was one of the study’s writers.
美国疾病控制与预防中心的一名研究人员是该研究的作者之一。
There were signs of the rise, she added.
她补充说，已经有上升的迹象。
Increasing demand for ADHD medication led to severe shortages after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020.
2020年3月新冠疫情爆发后，对ADHD药物的需求增加导致了严重的短缺。
A 2023 study showed the rise in prescriptions, or doctors’ orders for such medication, was notable in adults — especially among women.
2023年的一项研究显示，这类药物的处方量，即医生开具的此类药物订单，在成年人中显著增加——尤其是女性。
ADHD diagnoses and medication were increasing before the pandemic.
在疫情之前，ADHD的诊断和药物治疗已经在增加。
This is partly because of a change in general diagnostic measures in 2013.
这部分是因为2013年通用诊断标准的改变。
Those changes expanded the definition of ADHD and reduced the number of signs, or symptoms, required for diagnosis.
这些变化扩大了ADHD的定义，并减少了诊断所需体征或症状的数量。
But cases really seemed to increase in 2020, when schools closed and many adults were forced to work from home.
但病例数在2020年似乎确实有所增加，当时学校关闭，许多成年人被迫在家工作。
“It’s very difficult to focus when you are home and you have kids,” Claussen said.
克劳森说：“当你在家还有孩子的时候，很难集中注意力。”
She said such conditions may have worsened ADHD symptoms in people with less severe cases.
她说，这些情况可能会使病情较轻者的多动症症状恶化。
How ADHD is diagnosed in adults
成人ADHD如何诊断
Experts say that it was long believed that ADHD was underdiagnosed in adults.
专家表示，长期以来人们一直认为成人注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）的诊断不足。
Now, experts debate about whether it has become over-diagnosed.
如今，专家们就它是否已被过度诊断展开辩论。
There is no blood or brain test for the disorder.
这种疾病没有血液或脑部检测方法。
Experts say it is diagnosed when symptoms cause ongoing problems in more than one area of life, and when those symptoms began in early childhood.
专家表示，当症状在生活的多个领域造成持续问题时，且这些症状在幼儿时期就开始出现，即可诊断为该病症。
Experts say the best way professionals diagnose ADHD is by getting careful histories from patients and from people who know them.
专家表示，专业人士诊断多动症的最佳方式是从患者及其熟人那里获取详细的病史。
They also might test a patient’s memory and ability to focus.
他们还可能测试患者的记忆力和注意力。
But getting an appointment with a mental health professional can take months.
但预约心理健康专家可能需要数月时间。
And assessments can cost thousands of dollars.
而且评估费用可能高达数千美元。
Many people turn to family doctors.
许多人会求助于家庭医生。
People also take online diagnostic tests, some of which are linked to health companies that prescribe medications.
人们还会进行在线诊断测试，其中一些测试与开具药物的健康公司相关联。
“There is a wide variability in this country in how people diagnose, how strict they are, and who they diagnose,” said Margaret Sibley.
玛格丽特·西布利说：“在这个国家，人们在如何诊断、有多严格以及诊断谁方面存在很大差异。”
She is psychologist at University of Washington.
她是华盛顿大学的心理学家。
The American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders is preparing a set of diagnosis and treatment guidelines for American health professionals who treat adults.
美国注意力缺陷多动障碍及相关疾病专业协会正在为治疗成人患者的美国卫生专业人员制定一套诊断和治疗指南。
Sibley is leading the work on the guidelines, which the organization expects to release later this year.
西布利正在领导这项指南的制定工作，该组织预计今年晚些时候发布该指南。
I’m Anna Matteo.
我是安娜·马特奥。
And I'm Jill Robbins.
我是吉尔·罗宾斯。
Mike Stobbe reported this story for the Associated Press from New York, New York.
迈克·斯托布在纽约州纽约市为美联社报道了这则新闻。
Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English.
安娜·马特奥为VOA英语学习频道改编了此内容。
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
美联社健康与科学部接受霍华德·休斯医学研究所科学与教育媒体集团以及罗伯特·伍德·约翰逊基金会的支持。
The AP is solely responsible for all content.
美联社对所有内容全权负责。
