Search Here

It may not be as fun as the quizzes in women's magazines, but one quiz may help people over the age of 50 determine their risk of dying over the next 10 years. The test may help seniors and their doctors learn whether screening is necessary.

As a person's age increases, the suggestions for screenings often do as well. Take colon cancer as an example. The United States' Preventative Services Task Force suggests that colon cancer screening should be performed regularly between the ages of 50 and 75. However, for people who are over the age of 75 and who are likely to live for another 10 years, screening may still be necessary. On the other hand, many of the benefits of screening are unlikely to pay off for another five or 10 years, while the risks - false positives, anxiety - may be unnecessary for a person who is unlikely to live for 10 more years.

The researchers created the mortality index using data from about 20,000 adults over the age of 50. They found that 12 factors strongly indicated a death risk.

The quiz is filled with yes or no questions. According to eMax Health, respondents are forced to answer questions like "Because of a health or memory problem, do you have any difficulty with bathing or showering?" or "Because of a health problem, do you have any difficulty with pulling or pushing large objects like a living room chair?" The more times that respondents answer yes, the more points that they accumulate.

Age and sex is also taken into consideration; seniors aged between 60 and 64 receive one point, while seniors over the age of 85 receive seven points. Men automatically receive two points.

The maximum score that a person can receive is 26, which would mean that the person has a 95 percent chance of dying over the next 10 years. A score of 0 would require the respondent to be a woman younger than 60 who is at least slightly overweight, according to the Huffington Post. A score of 5 translates to a 23 percent death risk, while a score of 10 amounts to a 70 percent death risk.

The paper was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.