HOMA-IR calculator (insulin resistance)
A calculated score that estimates how well your body responds to insulin, using a fasting glucose and a fasting insulin from the same blood draw. Type your results in the units on your report and it works out HOMA-IR as you type, in your browser.
AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert reviewLast reviewed 2026-10-03Blood Sugar & Metabolism
Type your results above, or fill in the example, to see HOMA-IR.
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Educational information, not medical advice. Blood Test Tracker doesn’t diagnose or treat, and it doesn’t replace your clinician. Talk with your clinician before changing medications, supplements or care.
How it’s worked out
The formula
HOMA-IR = fasting glucose (mg/dL) × fasting insulin (µIU/mL, same as mIU/L) / 405. Equivalent: fasting glucose (mmol/L) × fasting insulin (µIU/mL) / 22.5. If insulin is reported in pmol/L, convert it to µIU/mL first with your lab's own factor. No universal cutoff exists: published cutoffs vary by population and insulin assay.
Fasting before the blood test: needed. Morning, after an overnight fast of at least 8 hours. Glucose and insulin must come from the same blood draw.
A worked example
Example numbers, not anyone’s real results, run through the same code as the calculator above.
| Glucose | 90 mg/dL |
|---|---|
| Insulin | 8 µIU/mL |
| HOMA-IR | 1.78 index |
What HOMA-IR tells you
HOMA-IR stands for homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance. It is not measured directly. A lab or calculator multiplies your fasting glucose by your fasting insulin and divides by a constant. The idea is that when cells respond poorly to insulin, the body needs more insulin to keep glucose steady, so the score goes up. Higher scores point to more insulin resistance, and lower scores to better insulin sensitivity. The simple formula is called HOMA1. A computer model, HOMA2, gives somewhat different numbers.
Insulin resistance is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, and it is linked to high blood pressure and unhealthy blood fats. Because the body can keep glucose steady by making more insulin, HOMA-IR can sometimes change when a fasting glucose still looks fine. But it is mostly a research tool. No agreed cutoff exists, the score depends on the insulin assay, and the model's own authors noted low precision, with a coefficient of variation of about 31% for the insulin resistance estimate. Trends and the full picture matter more than one number.
Read the full page on HOMA-IR, with what a high or low result can mean.
Sources
The equation
- Homeostasis model assessment: insulin resistance and beta-cell function from fasting plasma glucose and insulin concentrations in man, Diabetologia (1985)
- Correct homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) evaluation uses the computer program, Diabetes Care (1998)
- Assessment of insulin sensitivity/resistance, Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism (2015)
- Insulin resistance markers HOMA-IR, TyG and TyG-BMI index in relation to heart failure risk: NHANES 2011-2016, PLOS ONE (2025)
- Insulin assay standardization: leading to measures of insulin sensitivity and secretion for practical clinical care, Diabetes Care (2010)
- Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) cut-off values and the metabolic syndrome in a general adult population: effect of gender and age: EPIRCE cross-sectional study, BMC Endocrine Disorders (2013)
- Optimal cut-off values for the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and pre-diabetes screening: Developments in research and prospects for the future, Drug Discoveries & Therapeutics (2015)
AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert review. Last reviewed 2026-10-03. The calculator is version 1.0.0 of our code for this equation, tested against published examples. How we build and check these pages.