London - Would you want to know whether you will die within the next five years? Scientists have developed a “death test” that can tell you.
It uses a sample of blood to identify those at high risk of being killed by diseases ranging from heart disease to cancer.
Even apparently healthy folk destined for an early grave can be identified.
The test’s Finnish and Estonian creators hope it will help identify people with hidden disease who could benefit from lifesaving treatment. However, it is likely that some will baulk at the idea of taking a “death test”. The researchers began by testing blood samples from more than 17 000 generally healthy people for more than 100 different chemicals.
They then tracked the volunteers for several years and compared the blood samples of those who died with those who survived.
This revealed four chemical signals, or biomarkers, that forecast a high risk of dying from any disease within five years. All four compounds are normally found in blood but it is their levels that are important, the journal PLoS Medicine reports.
The finding held even when the researchers took into account other factors that affect health such as smoking, obesity, drinking, age, blood pressure and cholesterol.
Only one of the four biomarkers – albumin – had previously been linked with ill health.
Researcher Johannes Kettunen, of the Institute for Molecular Medicine in Finland, said: “What is especially interesting is that these biomarkers reflect the risk for dying from very different types of diseases such as heart disease or cancer. They seem to be signs of a general frailty in the body.
“Next we aim to study whether some kind of connecting factor between these biomarkers can be identified.
“We believe that in the future these measures can be used to identify people who appear healthy but in fact have serious underlying illnesses and guide them to proper treatment.” He stressed, however, that more work is needed before the test is ready for widespread use. - Daily Mail