Lee 4-Year Mortality Index (older adults)
Lee 4-Year Mortality Index for older adults (Lee, JAMA 2006): a weighted point sum mapped by table lookup to the validation-cohort 4-year all-cause mortality band.
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Age band
- 70–74 years (3 points)
- Congestive heart failure
- Yes
- BMI < 25 kg/m²
- Yes
Result: Lee index 6/26 → 4-year all-cause mortality about 15% (6–9 points).
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- 4-year mortality
- validation-cohort bands: 0–5 ≈ 4%, 6–9 ≈ 15%, 10–13 ≈ 42%, ≥ 14 ≈ 64%. A prognostic estimate for care planning, not a prediction of an individual’s death.
What you enter
- Age band (years)
- Male sex
- Diabetes mellitus
- Cancer (excluding non-melanoma skin)
- Chronic lung disease limiting activity or needing oxygen
- Congestive heart failure
- Current smoker
- BMI < 25 kg/m²
The other 4 fields
- Difficulty bathing
- Difficulty walking several blocks
- Difficulty managing money
- Difficulty pushing / pulling large objects
How this is calculated
- Scoring
- age (60–64=1…≥85=7), male (2), diabetes (1), cancer (2), lung disease (2), heart failure (2), smoker (2), BMI<25 (1), difficulty bathing/walking/money (2 each), pushing heavy objects (1) = 0–26.
Lee SJ, Lindquist K, Segal MR, Covinsky KE. Development and validation of a prognostic index for 4-year mortality in older adults. JAMA. 2006;295(7):801-808. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.