Scientists develop blood test that predicts whether you'll die in next 10 years

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing have developed a new blood test that can predict whether you’ll die within the next 10 years.

The test relies on biomarkers in the blood linked to various factors that appear to affect your risk of death.

To develop the test, the researchers analysed 44,168 participants aged 18 to 109 - 5,512 of who died during follow-up.

An analysis of the participants’ blood revealed 14 biomarkers that were associated with an increased risk of death.

These biomarkers were linked to various factors, including immunity, circulating fat, inflammation and glucose control.

This suggests that in the future, a sample of your blood could be analysed for the presence of these biomarkers, to indicate when you’ll die.

In the study, published in Nature Communications , the researchers, led by Joris Deelen, explained: 

We subsequently show that the prediction accuracy of 5- and 10-year mortality based on a model containing the identified biomarkers and sex is better than that of a model containing conventional risk factors for mortality.

The researchers highlight that further research is needed before a clinical test is available, and this is backed up by experts not involved in the study.