Skip to content
Intel Lab Diagnostics Dubai
Single Biomarker

HOMA-IR: Insulin Resistance Index

Insulin Resistance Index

HOMA-IR calculates insulin resistance using fasting glucose and fasting insulin levels. It is a valuable tool for assessing prediabetes risk and metabolic syndrome. An overnight fast is required.

BLOOD24 HOURSFASTING
AEDAED170
  • Free home collection
  • Physician-reviewed report

24 Hours

Turnaround

Blood

Sample

About This Test

What the HOMA-IR: Insulin Resistance Index test tells you

HOMA-IR is not measured; it is calculated. The laboratory takes two results from the same fasting sample (your fasting glucose and your fasting insulin) and combines them into a single index that estimates how hard your pancreas is having to work to keep your fasting glucose where it is. The reasoning is straightforward: if glucose is being held at an ordinary level only because insulin is running high, the tissues are clearly responding poorly to that insulin, and the index rises accordingly.

Insulin resistance matters because it usually precedes type 2 diabetes by years, sometimes by more than a decade. During that period fasting glucose can remain entirely unremarkable while the pancreas quietly compensates by secreting more and more insulin. HOMA-IR is one way of seeing that compensation while it is still working, which is exactly the window in which changes to diet, weight and physical activity have the greatest effect. It is also commonly used in the assessment of polycystic ovary syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and the metabolic syndrome, where insulin resistance is central to the picture.

It should be read for what it is. The model came out of research rather than clinical diagnosis, and insulin assays are not standardised between laboratories, so an index generated in one laboratory is not directly comparable with one generated in another. It is best used as a trend within a single laboratory (a direction of travel across repeated tests) rather than as a verdict from any one result. Both inputs must come from a genuine fast, because a non-fasting insulin makes the calculation meaningless rather than merely imprecise.

Sample type
Blood
Measured in
index
Turnaround
24 Hours
Fasting
Required
Best for
Adults at metabolic risk
Why Get Tested?

Recommended for individuals with risk factors for type 2 diabetes (obesity, family history, PCOS, metabolic syndrome) to quantify insulin resistance before diabetes develops.

  • Sees resistance early

    Insulin resistance typically develops years before fasting glucose moves, and this index is one way of detecting that compensation while it is still succeeding.

  • Uses one fasting sample

    Both inputs come from the same blood draw, so a single fasting appointment produces glucose, insulin and the calculated index together.

  • Supports PCOS assessment

    Insulin resistance is central to polycystic ovary syndrome and to fatty liver disease, and the index gives a way of quantifying it during assessment.

  • Tracks change over time

    Repeated within the same laboratory, it can show whether weight loss, exercise or medication is shifting insulin resistance in the right direction.

When This Test Is Ordered

Reasons your doctor may request the HOMA-IR: Insulin Resistance Index test

Your doctor may order this test for any of the reasons below. Some are routine checks, others follow specific symptoms or an earlier result.

  • Risk factors with a normal fasting glucose

    • You have risk factors for type 2 diabetes such as excess weight, central obesity, or a strong family history, but a normal fasting glucose.
    • You have previously had glucose intolerance in pregnancy and long-term metabolic risk is being reviewed.

  • PCOS, fatty liver & metabolic syndrome

    • You are being assessed for polycystic ovary syndrome, where insulin resistance is often a driving factor.
    • You have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, raised triglycerides, or other features of the metabolic syndrome.

  • Following a lifestyle programme

    • A weight, diet or exercise programme is under way and its metabolic effect is being followed.
Preparation
The short version
A little prep.
  • Blood
  • Free home collection
  • Fasting required
  • Results in 24 Hours
  1. 1
    Book any time

    Pick a morning slot online or on WhatsApp: come fasted per the prep note below.

  2. 2
    We come to you

    A DHA-licensed nurse collects your sample at home or in the office: free home collection.

  3. 3
    Results in 24 Hours

    A physician-reviewed, easy-to-read report lands securely by WhatsApp and email.

Prep note
Physician reviewed

A genuine overnight fast of eight to twelve hours is required, because both the glucose and the insulin in the calculation must be fasting values: even a small amount of food or a sweetened drink raises insulin sharply and makes the index meaningless.

Plain water only: no tea or coffee, no juice, no chewing gum or mints, and no smoking. Book a morning appointment so the fast falls overnight, and avoid alcohol and strenuous exercise the evening before, since both can shift insulin sensitivity for a day or more.

Take your usual medicines unless told otherwise, but bring the list, and mention corticosteroids and any diabetes treatment specifically. If you take injected insulin, tell the team, because the calculation cannot be interpreted in that situation.

Sit quietly for a few minutes before the blood draw, and if you have been acutely unwell, ask whether the test should be postponed.

Understanding Your Results

HOMA-IR is calculated from fasting glucose and fasting insulin in the same sample and reported as an index. An "Optimal" index suggests good insulin sensitivity. A "Borderline" index suggests early insulin resistance, which lifestyle changes can shift. A "Resistance" index suggests significant insulin resistance, commonly linked to excess fat around the abdomen and liver, polycystic ovary syndrome or fatty liver disease. A low index is usually favourable, but not always: it also occurs when insulin production is failing. It was developed for comparing groups, not diagnosing individuals. Both inputs must come from a genuine overnight fast; an incomplete fast inflates the index. Insulin assays are not standardised, so read it as a trend within one laboratory; it is not interpretable in people taking insulin. Your doctor weighs it with your glucose, glycated haemoglobin and symptoms.

SmartReport
23
Healthy zone1indexOptimal
Reference ranges · index
Optimal
Good insulin sensitivity.
0–1.9
Borderline
Early insulin resistance: lifestyle changes can help.
2–2.9
Resistance
Significant insulin resistance: discuss with your physician.
3–10

Ranges are a guide: your physician interprets your result alongside your symptoms and history.

Reading a High or Low Result

  • What a higher result can point to

    • Insulin resistance associated with excess body fat, particularly around the abdomen and liver.
    • Polycystic ovary syndrome, in which resistance is common independently of body weight.
    • Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which both results from and worsens insulin resistance.
    • Medications that impair insulin action, including corticosteroids, some antipsychotics and certain antiretroviral drugs.
    • Hormonal conditions such as Cushing's syndrome or acromegaly, where counter-regulatory hormones oppose insulin.
    • An incomplete fast before the sample, which raises insulin and inflates the index artificially.

  • What a lower result can point to

    • Good insulin sensitivity, common in lean and physically active people, which is the favourable end of the scale.
    • Reduced insulin production, as in type 1 diabetes or long-standing type 2 diabetes with beta-cell exhaustion, where a low index does not indicate good health.
    • Prolonged fasting, severe undernutrition or substantial recent weight loss.
    • Adrenal or pituitary insufficiency, which lowers the hormones that oppose insulin.
    • Medication that lowers insulin levels, or an assay that under-recovers insulin in someone receiving injected insulin.

These are possibilities, not diagnoses. A single value outside the reference range is interpreted alongside your symptoms, history and other tests: your doctor decides what it means for you.

Limitations & Safety

What this test cannot tell you

  • It is a calculation, not a measurement, and it was developed as a research tool for comparing groups rather than as a diagnostic test for individuals.
  • Insulin assays are not standardised between laboratories, so an index from one laboratory cannot be compared directly with one from another; treat it as a trend within a single laboratory.
  • Both inputs must come from a genuine fast: a non-fasting insulin makes the result meaningless rather than merely inaccurate.
  • It is not interpretable in people taking insulin, because injected insulin is not distinguished from what the pancreas produces, and it is unreliable when insulin output is already failing.

Risks of the blood draw

  • Mild bruising or brief soreness where the needle went in.
  • Occasional lightheadedness, which settles after a few minutes of rest.
  • Bleeding or infection at the site, which is rare with sterile single-use equipment.
Key Points
  • 1The index is calculated from fasting glucose and fasting insulin drawn in the same sample.
  • 2A genuine overnight fast is essential; without it the calculation carries no meaning.
  • 3It can highlight insulin resistance years before fasting glucose changes.
  • 4Because insulin assays differ between laboratories, use it as a trend within one laboratory rather than a fixed verdict.
  • 5It does not diagnose diabetes; that rests on glucose measurements and HbA1c interpreted by your doctor.
Related Tests
View all
Book in 60 seconds

Know your HOMA-IR: Insulin Resistance Index.
No waiting room required.

A nurse comes to you, results land in 24 Hours, and a physician walks you through exactly what they mean.

AED170
Ask a clinician
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about the HOMA-IR: Insulin Resistance Index test. Can't find what you're looking for?

Talk to our team→

No. It is a number worked out from two measured results (your fasting glucose and your fasting insulin) using a model that estimates how much insulin is needed to hold your fasting glucose steady. Nothing separate is measured for the index itself.