The ultimate test

If you are dying to know exactly when you might leave your earthly body and enter the Great Beyond, scientists have developed just what you need. It is an online test that helps people between 40 to 70 to know whether they will pass on within the next five years. There is no physical examination involved, but the results are said to be very (80 percent) accurate. The only caveat is that no one has actually experienced the 'result' so far.

The test (already dubbed by some media as the Death Test) takers are questioned about their walking speed, financial situation, previous illnesses, marital status and whether they have had previous illnesses. Participants can calculate their five-year mortality risk as well as their "Ubble Age" - the age where the average mortality risk in the population is most similar to the estimated risk. Having answered the questionnaire, users are presented with their 'Ubble age' - a lower age than their own indicates good health, a higher one, less so.

Lifestyle

To create the test, Prof Ingelsson and Dr Andrea Ganna, from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, analysed data collected between 2006 and 2010 from nearly half a million adults aged between 40 and 70 years. They then worked out what health and lifestyle factors were the best indicators of short-term death.

Surprisingly they found that self-reported health information was generally a stronger predictor of death than biological measurements, such as pulse rate and blood pressure. Walking pace, judged as brisk, slow or steady was found to be linked more strongly to death risk in both men and women than smoking habits and other lifestyle factors.

The idea is that it will help those people at risk to make lifestyle changes before it is too late. The fact that the score can be measured online in a brief questionnaire, without any need for lab tests or physical examination, is an exciting development. It is unlikely to be used in a clinical setting, but it will enable doctors to gauge more information about their patients and give them lifestyle advice.

The test comes after a similar initiative, where scientists found they could predict the chances of death by analysing a drop of blood to look for biomarkers linked to cancer, heart disease and diabetes. They found that they could spot a general level of 'frailty' which increased the risk of early death. However this is the first test which does not need any biological information of invasive testing.

Chances

But the test also raises ethical questions as well. Do you really want to know when you are going to die? Chances are that if the test is 'positive' (of death within five years), you will spend a great deal of time thinking about it and actually fulfilling the test prediction with a broken heart.

On the other hand, it is far better not to test and follow lifestyle changes right away if you feel that your life is not very healthy right now. A bit of exercise never harmed anyone (although excessive exercising has). If you already lead a healthy lifestyle, all you have got to do is continue on the same path.

Looking at the test positively, the 13 questions in the test are a good opportunity to take a look at yourself. Among the questions asked are: How many children do you have/have given birth to?; Do you smoke tobacco now?; In the past how often have you smoked tobacco?; In general how do you rate your overall health?; Do you have a long standing illness or disability?; How would you describe your usual walking pace, slow, steady or brisk? (Walking fast would not decrease your risk of dying, but if you are walking slowly it could be a predictor of bad health - such as heart disease); Have you ever seen a doctor for nerves, anxiety, tension or depression?; Has a doctor ever told you that you have cancer?; In the past two years have you experienced; serious illness, injury or assault to yourself; serious illness, injury or assault to a close relative; death of a close relative; death of a spouse or partner, marital separation or divorce; financial difficulties?

Emotional

Some of the questions may not seemingly have a bearing on your physical health, but emotional health is equally important. The death of a close relative, for instance, may leave a void in your heart that may not be easy to fulfill, leaving emotional scars that could affect your overall health.

The questions also highlight the place smoking has in the overall scheme of things, because smoking increases chances of mortality several times. If you have Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and heart disease, that will obviously affect your longevity.

Five years is also a long time in the medical world. New types of medicine are being invented every year which offer hope to patients with life-threatening conditions. New surgical procedures can help replace or rejuvenate certain parts of the body. The day is not far off when completely artificial body parts including hearts can be transplanted.

This may look like a clip from the famous TV series Bionic Woman, but it is no longer a fantasy. In fact, scientists say that with the advances being made in medicine and technology, the first person who will live to be 150 has already been born somewhere in the world. Whether you actually want to live that long is a different question altogether.

Answer

But longevity in itself may not be the ultimate answer. If you are weak and unhealthy, there is no point living for 150 years. The secret is to have a healthy and productive life well into your sunset years. Most developing and developed countries are confronted with the problem of having to look after senior citizens who are well beyond 70. Keeping them economically useful to society has become a big challenge but healthy people who contribute to the economy regardless of their age are an asset to any country.