在过去很长一段时间，车祸是美国人过早死亡的第一大原因，如今情况发生变化——这一“不光彩”的名声被枪击占据。美国一项最新研究显示，2017年起，该国枪击导致的“潜在寿命损失年数”已超过车祸造成的相关损失数据。枪击已成为美国人创伤致死的首要原因。

 

Firearm-related deaths are continuing their rapid rise in the US, with a new study finding they have overtaken car crashes as the leading cause of "years of potential life lost" due to trauma¹.

一项新研究发现，因美国的枪击死亡人数持续激增，枪击已经超过车祸，成为该国创伤致过早死亡的主要原因。

 

In 2017, there were 1.44 million years of potential life lost due to firearm deaths, edging out that of motor vehicle crashes (1.37 million years), according to the study published Tuesday in the journal Trauma Surgery and Acute Care Open. And that trend continued in 2018.

根据2月22日发表在《创伤外科和急诊护理》杂志上的研究，2017年，枪击导致的潜在寿命损失年数为144万年，略高于车祸的137万年。2018年依然保持这一趋势。

 

Those numbers are based on data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 2009 and 2018, the most recent year for which data was available.

该研究数据基于2009年至2018年美国疾病控制和预防中心的数据。现有数据最新更新至2018年。

 

Researchers used the CDC standard formula to calculate years of potential life lost by subtracting the age of death from the standard age of 80, to represent the average US life expectancy² of 78.7 years and then added the differences.

研究人员使用美国疾控中心的标准公式计算潜在寿命损失年数，方法是用80岁（与美国人的平均寿命78.7岁接近）减去死者的年龄，然后将差额相加。

 

The study found that suicides accounted for most of the deaths by firearms -- and those deaths had been in increasing.

这项研究发现，自杀占与枪支有关的死亡人数的大部分，而且这一数字一直在增加。

 

The number of suicides by firearm rose from fewer than 19,000 in 2009 to over 24,000 in 2018. Across the 10 years studied, White men made up the majority of suicide-related firearm deaths, with 4.95 million years of potential life lost.

持枪自杀的人数从2009年的不到19000人上升到2018年的24000多人。在研究的10年中，持枪自杀身亡的大多数是白人男性，他们的潜在寿命损失年数为495万年。

 

Meanwhile, the majority of homicide-related firearm deaths were among Black men, with 3.2 million years of potential life lost, the study found.

同时，该研究发现，大多数持枪凶杀案的死者是黑人男性，他们的潜在寿命损失年数为320万年。

 

"Previous studies have shown that firearm ownership, mass shootings, injuries and death are more of a problem in the USA as compared with other developed countries," the researchers wrote. "

研究人员写道：“此前的研究表明，与其他发达国家相比，枪支所有权、大规模枪击案、伤亡等问题在美国更为突出。”

点击收听单词发音