The more you take of this substance, the lower your risk of cancer

Want to predict how long you can live? Many people have this idea. The usual practice is to use several indicators such as age, body mass index, and whether or not there is smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. But a British study came up with a formula that used different indicators.

The indicators he used were: age, gender, how many children you have (women's question), how many cars you have (men's question), how many people live in your home (men's question), who you live with (men's question), whether you smoke, have diabetes (men's question), whether you have cardiovascular disease/stroke/hypertension (men's question), how you evaluate your health, whether you have chronic diseases, walking speed, whether you have sought medical treatment due to caution, stress, depression, etc., whether you have a tumor, whether you have suffered mental blows such as widowhood/bankruptcy, and whether you have disability/social assistance.

These indicators show that in addition to common risk factors, they also include some social support issues, such as who you live with, vehicle conditions, mental trauma, economic conditions, and personal health conditions, such as walking speed.

The tool, called the UK Longevity Detector, is based on responses to 655 lifestyle questions from people registered with UK Biobank, a DNA and medical database of half a million people that aims to pinpoint links between genes and lifestyle.

More than 8,500 of them died within five years, after which the researchers identified 13 questions (for men) and 11 questions (for women) that best predicted death in middle age. Smoking was the strongest predictor.

The most significant predictor was self-reported health for nonsmoking men and a previous cancer diagnosis for women.

Walking speed is very important, and people who walk slower have a higher risk of death. People with a higher number of cars in their household had a lower risk, possibly due to greater wealth and healthier lifestyles.

The authors say the questionnaire, based on people in the UK, may also be applicable to people in other wealthy countries with similar lifestyles.