Five-year 'death test' for older adults launched online

Conclusion This large study has identified numerous risk factors associated with a person's risk of death within five years. Researchers used this information to develop an online tool that predicts someone's risk of death within the next five years. The study's strengths include its large sample size and the prospective nature of the study design. But there are some limitations. There may be some bias in the type of people who volunteered to take part. The death rate was lower than that of the average population in this age group, which may indicate that the participants were more interested in their health and so had healthier lifestyles. This may limit whether the results apply to the population as a whole. The study only included people from the UK between the ages of 37 and 73, and results may not apply to people outside that age range or from other countries. For example, the data is reliant on self-reporting, and people from other age groups or countries might interpret some of these concepts differently. This may not be an issue for some factors, but it might be an issue for others, such as estimating walking pace or level of health. This study did not aim to assess whether the factors directly increased risk of death – rather, it set out to identify factors that are associated with and can predict death risk when combined.  Also, several factors in the calculator cannot be changed, such as current and past health. But smoking – a factor that can be altered â€...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Cancer Lifestyle/exercise Medical practice Source Type: news