Although there has been plenty of research linking mortality to various habits and lifestyle factors, scientists at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada — in collaboration with colleagues from other institutions — have identified the 10 factors most likely to lead to death.

The new study appears in the journal PNAS. The research aimed to better understand the stagnation in life expectancy occurring in the United States over the past 3 decades compared with other industrialized countries.

According to the study, the top three factors most closely connected to death are smoking, experiencing divorce, and having engaged in alcohol misuse.

The full list of the top 10 factors that most strongly predict death is as follows:

smoking (currently)
history of divorce
history of alcohol misuse
recent financial difficulties
history of unemployment
smoking (previously)
lower life satisfaction
never having been married
history of using food stamps
negative affectivity