New Death Test Predicts if You Will Die in 5 Years

Researchers have come up with a test they say predicts the likelihood of a seemingly healthy individual dying within 5 years. It's a blood test that looks at 4 "biomarkers." Scientists followed 17000 people for 5 years and the 684 who died all had comparable biomarkers levels.

They look for increased levels of infection related Alpha-1-acid glycoprotein, metabolism related compound citrate, reduced size of very-low-density lipoprotein, and nutrient carrying protein albumin. These biomarkers reflect the risk of dying from many types of diseases, including heart disease and cancer, and they speak to an overall frailty of the body. So presumably knowing the information doesn't help you exactly pinpoint your trouble area to make corrections. But when these biomarkers are offkilter you are five times more likely to die within the next five years. Then would you really want to know?

Check out the full Telegraph article by clicking here.