QUICKI calculator (insulin sensitivity)
Short answer: QUICKI is 1 ÷ (log fasting insulin + log fasting glucose), with insulin in µIU/mL and glucose in mg/dL. Higher is better. Healthy adults average about 0.37, and below 0.357 suggests insulin resistance. It uses the same two numbers as HOMA-IR, on a scale that behaves more evenly.
Free calculator
QUICKI calculator (insulin sensitivity)
QUICKI = 1 ÷ (log insulin + log glucose)
Sources: Katz A, Nambi SS, Mather K, et al. Quantitative insulin sensitivity check index: a simple, accurate method for assessing insulin sensitivity in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2000;85(7):2402-2410.
After 8 to 12 hours without food
µIU/mL is the same number as mIU/L
Your result
Enter the numbers from your lab report to see your result.
Use glucose and insulin from the same fasting blood test. QUICKI does not work if you take insulin.
Worked out in your browser. Nothing you type is sent or saved.
A pointer, not a diagnosis. Talk to a doctor about your result, and sooner if you feel unwell.
How to read the result
- Below 0.357< 0.357Below the lower limit seen in healthy adults, which suggests insulin resistance: the body needs more insulin to keep sugar steady. Daily movement, strength training, less refined carbs and losing some waist fat improve it.
- 0.357 or above≥ 0.357In the range seen in healthy adults: your insulin works well for your glucose level.
Your lab’s range
QUICKI is not printed on lab reports. Healthy non-obese adults average about 0.366, and below 0.357 (the lower 95% limit in healthy adults, Hřebíček 2002) suggests insulin resistance. The two markers it uses have lab ranges: fasting glucose below 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L); fasting insulin ranges differ between labs, often about 2–25 µIU/mL.
How it is worked out
QUICKI = 1 ÷ (log insulin + log glucose)
Use glucose and insulin from the same fasting blood test. QUICKI does not work if you take insulin.
Sources
- Katz A, Nambi SS, Mather K, et al. Quantitative insulin sensitivity check index: a simple, accurate method for assessing insulin sensitivity in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2000;85(7):2402-2410.
- Hřebíček J, Janout V, Malinčíková J, Horáková D, Číţek L. Detection of insulin resistance by simple quantitative insulin sensitivity check index QUICKI for epidemiological assessment and prevention. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2002;87(1):144-147.
The markers it uses
Questions
- What is a normal QUICKI value?
- Healthy non-obese adults average about 0.366. Below 0.357, the lower limit in healthy adults in a large study, suggests insulin resistance. Lower numbers mean more resistance.
- How do you calculate QUICKI?
- Take the base-10 logarithm of fasting insulin (µIU/mL) and of fasting glucose (mg/dL), add them, and divide 1 by the sum. Insulin 10 and glucose 90 give 1 ÷ (1 + 1.954) = 0.338.
- QUICKI or HOMA-IR?
- They use the same two numbers and agree closely; QUICKI is roughly a log-transformed HOMA-IR, which makes it more even across very low and very high values. Read one or the other, not both as separate evidence.
More calculators for the same system
A pointer, not a diagnosis. Talk to a doctor about your result, and sooner if you feel unwell. Reference ranges are general-population guidance compiled from common clinical laboratories, not a diagnosis. Lab-to-lab ranges differ. Always read your results with your doctor.