HOMA-IR Insulin Resistance Calculator
Calculate HOMA-IR, HOMA-B beta cell function, and QUICKI index from fasting insulin and glucose to assess insulin resistance severity.
QUICKI Insulin Sensitivity Calculator
Calculate QUICKI, HOMA-IR, HOMA-beta, and related fasting metabolic indexes from fasting insulin and glucose as a screening worksheet for insulin-sensitivity context.
⚠️ Medical Disclaimer: Insulin sensitivity indices are screening tools, not diagnostic tests. The gold standard is the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. Consult an endocrinologist for diagnosis and treatment of insulin resistance.
Normal: 2–20 µU/mL
Normal: 70–100 mg/dL
For reference context
For metabolic context
For McAuley index
For TG/HDL ratio
QUICKI⧉
0.3271
Moderate insulin resistance
HOMA-IR⧉
2.81
Early insulin resistance
HOMA-β (%)⧉
135%
Beta-cell function estimate
McAuley Index⧉
6.30
Insulin sensitive
TG/HDL Ratio⧉
2.4
Normal range
Metabolic Risk⧉
Elevated
Combined insulin sensitivity assessment
QUICKI: 0.3271
Moderate insulin resistance
HOMA-IR: 2.81
Early insulin resistance
QUICKI Interpretation
| QUICKI Value | Interpretation | Approximate HOMA-IR |
|---|---|---|
| ≥ 0.382 | Normal insulin sensitivity | < 1.0 |
| 0.339–0.381 | Borderline resistance | 1.0–2.9 |
| 0.304–0.338 | Moderate resistance | 2.9–5.0 |
| < 0.304 | Severe resistance / diabetes | > 5.0 |
Insulin Sensitivity Index Comparison
| Index | Formula | Measures |
|---|---|---|
| QUICKI | 1 / (log₁₀(insulin) + log₁₀(glucose)) | Insulin sensitivity (higher = better) |
| HOMA-IR | (Insulin × Glucose) / 405 | Insulin resistance (lower = better) |
| HOMA-β | (360 × Insulin) / (Glucose − 63) | Beta-cell function (%) |
| McAuley | e^(2.63 − 0.28×ln(I) − 0.31×ln(TG)) | Insulin sensitivity with lipids |
| TG/HDL Ratio | Triglycerides / HDL | Surrogate metabolic risk marker |
Planning notes, formulas, and examples
About the QUICKI Insulin Sensitivity Calculator
The Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI) is a fasting-laboratory surrogate for insulin sensitivity built from glucose and insulin measurements. It is used mainly in research and structured metabolic review because it summarizes the fasting glucose-insulin relationship without a clamp study or oral glucose tolerance test.
This page also shows HOMA-IR, HOMA-beta, the McAuley index, and the TG/HDL ratio so the fasting pattern can be reviewed in one place. Those indices are screening tools rather than stand-alone diagnoses, and they are most useful when interpreted with the lab method, body-size context, medication list, and the rest of the metabolic workup.
When This Page Helps
Fasting glucose and insulin are often available long before more formal metabolic testing is considered. Keeping QUICKI and the companion fasting indexes together makes it easier to review whether the pattern looks insulin-sensitive, borderline, or more resistant before deciding what broader follow-up is appropriate.
How to Use the Inputs
- Enter your fasting insulin level in µU/mL (drawn after 8–12 hours of fasting).
- Enter your fasting glucose level in mg/dL (from the same blood draw).
- Optionally enter HbA1c, BMI, triglycerides, and HDL cholesterol for a more complete metabolic picture.
- Review QUICKI, HOMA-IR, HOMA-β, McAuley Index, and TG/HDL ratio results.
- Compare your values against the interpretation tables for clinical significance.
Formula used
QUICKI = 1 / (log₁₀(Fasting Insulin) + log₁₀(Fasting Glucose))
HOMA-IR = (Fasting Insulin × Fasting Glucose) / 405
HOMA-β = (360 × Fasting Insulin) / (Fasting Glucose − 63)
McAuley = e^(2.63 − 0.28 × ln(Insulin) − 0.31 × ln(TG in mmol/L))Example Calculation
Result: QUICKI = 0.3466, HOMA-IR = 2.81, HOMA-β = 135%
QUICKI = 1/(log₁₀(12) + log₁₀(95)) = 1/(1.079 + 1.978) = 0.3466 — indicating borderline insulin resistance. HOMA-IR = (12 × 95)/405 = 2.81, confirming early insulin resistance. HOMA-β of 135% suggests compensatory hyperinsulinemia (pancreas working harder to maintain glucose).
Tips & Best Practices
- Request fasting insulin with your routine labs — it adds minimal cost and significantly improves metabolic risk assessment.
- Track QUICKI and HOMA-IR over time to monitor lifestyle intervention effectiveness.
- Borderline values are usually more useful when trended over time than when interpreted from a single draw.
- Assay methods and reference intervals vary by laboratory, especially for fasting insulin.
- Use the ratio outputs as screening context, not as a substitute for diabetes diagnostic criteria.
What These Fasting Indexes Add
QUICKI, HOMA-IR, and related fasting indexes are best understood as compact summaries of the fasting insulin-glucose relationship. They do not replace clamp studies, oral glucose tolerance testing, or diagnostic diabetes criteria, but they can make routine fasting labs easier to organize when insulin resistance is part of the question.
Why Unit Handling Matters
These formulas only stay comparable when glucose, insulin, and triglycerides are converted consistently. QUICKI uses base-10 logs, HOMA formulas depend on the glucose unit convention, and the McAuley index expects triglycerides in mmol/L. Converting everything to the expected units before calculation avoids false shifts in the result.
How to Read Borderline Results
Borderline or discordant results are common. A person can have a fasting glucose in range while insulin is already elevated, or one surrogate index can look less favorable than another because of triglycerides, BMI, or assay variability. That is why the output works best as structured screening context rather than as a single definitive label.
Sources & Methodology
Last updated:
Methodology
This calculator computes QUICKI as 1 / (log10(fasting insulin) + log10(fasting glucose)), HOMA-IR and HOMA-beta from the original fasting glucose-insulin equations, the McAuley index after converting triglycerides to mmol/L, and the TG/HDL ratio from the supplied lipid values. The page shows those fasting surrogates together so they can be compared side by side from one lab draw.
The interpretation bands are screening-oriented. They are meant to organize a fasting metabolic pattern, not to diagnose diabetes, metabolic syndrome, or beta-cell failure on their own.
Sources
- Quantitative insulin sensitivity check index: a simple, accurate method for assessing insulin sensitivity in humans (PubMed / Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism) — Original QUICKI paper.
- Homeostasis model assessment: insulin resistance and beta-cell function from fasting plasma glucose and insulin concentrations in man (PubMed / Diabetologia) — Original HOMA paper.
- Diagnosing insulin resistance in the general population (PubMed / Diabetes Care) — Validation of the McAuley score as a fasting insulin-sensitivity surrogate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both use fasting insulin and glucose. QUICKI is a logarithmic transformation that correlates better with clamp studies, particularly in the insulin-resistant range. HOMA-IR is more intuitive (higher = more resistant). They are mathematically related but not identical — QUICKI is considered slightly more accurate in research settings.
Fasting insulin above 12–15 µU/mL is often considered suggestive of insulin resistance, though reference ranges vary by lab. The absolute level is less informative than calculated indices (QUICKI, HOMA-IR) that account for the glucose-insulin relationship.
QUICKI is a measure of insulin sensitivity, not a diagnostic test for diabetes. However, very low QUICKI values (< 0.304) strongly correlate with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes diagnosis still requires fasting glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL, HbA1c ≥ 6.5%, or 2-hour OGTT glucose ≥ 200 mg/dL.
Fast for 8–12 hours before the blood draw (water is fine). Avoid vigorous exercise for 24 hours before the test. Test in the morning. Certain medications (steroids, thiazides, beta-blockers) can affect results — inform your doctor.
HOMA-β estimates pancreatic beta-cell function. In early insulin resistance, HOMA-β is elevated (compensatory hyperinsulinemia). As resistance progresses and beta cells fail, HOMA-β declines — this transition marks the progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes.
A TG/HDL ratio > 3.5 (in mg/dL units) is a strong surrogate marker for insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. It reflects the dyslipidemia pattern (high triglycerides, low HDL) driven by hepatic insulin resistance and is easily calculable from a standard lipid panel.
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