According to the Daily Mail, it all started in 1995 when scientists took samples from 639 adults and tracked them down over 19 years later.
They found that the levels of secretory immunoglobin A (IgA) fell the nearer the person got to death.
Antibodies are used by the body to fight infection and are secreted by white blood cells.
The researchers said the chemical appears to be a marker of mortality risk, and is much less invasive than blood sampling.
Testing levels of IgA could be used as way of looking at overall health by professionals as part of a general check-up.
The research was published in the journal PLOS One, but Dr. Anna Phillips – from the University of Birmingham – explains that there are a number of factors that can lead to the production of antibodies and how their levels are maintained. AKA if your levels of IgA are off, it doesn’t automatically mean you should call in a priest to be read your last rites.
