A person's physiological age is a much more accurate predictor of their survival than their chronological age.

A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology also suggests that knowing your physiological age is a good motivation to increase exercise performance that could translate into improved survival.

Research by Cleveland Clinic examined data from 126,356 patients referred to the clinic between 1991 and 2015 for their first exercise stress test – an examination for diagnosing heart problems which involves walking on a treadmill.

The data were used to calculate a measure called Age Based on Exercise Stress Testing (A-BEST), which took into account gender and use of medications that affect heart rate.

The average age of study participants was 53.5 years and 59 per cent were men. More than half of patients aged 50-60 years – 55 per cent of men and 57 per cent of women – had an A-BEST measure which showed they were physiologically younger.

After an average follow-up of 8.7 years, 9,929 (8 per cent) participants had died.

Remarkably, the A-BEST score was a significantly better predictor of survival than chronological age, even after adjusting for sex, smoking, body mass index, statin use, diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and end-stage kidney disease.

This was true for the overall cohort and for both men and women when they were analysed separately.

"Age is one of the most reliable risk factors for death: the older you are, the greater your risk of dying," said study author Dr Serge Harb, cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic.

"But we found that physiological health is an even better predictor. If you want to live longer then exercise more. It should improve your health and your length of life."

"Knowing your physiological age is also a good motivation to increase your exercise performance, which could translate into improved survival.

"Telling a 45-year-old that their physiological age is 55 should be a wake-up call that they are losing years of life by being unfit. On the other hand, a 65-year-old with an A-BEST of 50 is likely to live longer than their peers."

To access the full research, click here for the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.