Would you like to know your chances of dying over the next four years? Researchers with the San Francisco Veteran's Affairs Medical Center say they have developed a test that predicts your chances of dying with 81 percent accuracy.
The test assesses 12 risk factors. The candidate begins with a score of zero and adds points for risk factors like diabetes, smoking, and exhaustion with moderate exercise. Men automatically get 2 points just for being men. Dr. Sei Lee, a geriatrics researcher at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said the quiz is designed "to try to help doctors and families get a firmer sense for what the future may hold" in order to plan health care accordingly.