一项最新的研究结果显示，老夫少妻的婚姻会让男人长寿。该研究表明，如果妻子比丈夫小15到17岁，那么丈夫早逝的几率会减少20％；而如果这个年龄差在7到9岁之间，丈夫早逝的几率则会减少11％。这项研究同时还发现，“姐弟恋”式婚姻中的男性早逝的可能性比较大；在婚姻中与丈夫的正负年龄差在7到9岁之间的女性早逝的几率会增加20％，如果该年龄差在15到17岁之间，则女性的早逝几率会增加30％。

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A man's chances of dying early are cut by a fifth if their bride is between 15 and 17 years their junior.

Men are likely to live longer if they marry a younger woman, new research suggests.

A man's chances of dying early are cut by a fifth if their bride is between 15 and 17 years their junior.

The risk of premature² death is reduced by 11 per cent if they marry a woman seven to nine years younger.

The study at Germany's Max Planck Institute also found that men marrying older women are more likely to die early.

The results suggest that women do not experience the same benefits³ of marrying a toy boy or a sugar daddy.

Wives with husbands older or younger by between seven and nine years increase their chances of dying early by 20 per cent.

This rises to 30 per cent if the age difference is close to 15 and 17 years.

Scientists say the figures for men may be the result of natural selection⁴ – that only the healthiest, most successful older men are able to attract younger mates⁵.

"Another theory is that a younger woman will care for a man better and therefore he will live longer," said institute spokesman⁶ Sven Drefahl.

The study examined deaths between 1990 and 2005 for the entire population of Denmark.

On average in Europe, most men marry women around three years younger.

Vocabulary:

toy boy: 年轻男友

sugar daddy: 年龄相差很多的老男友