Diabetes and prediabetes risk
CANRISK calculator (Canadian diabetes risk score)
CANRISK is a points score from Canada that adds ethnicity, education and a few other questions to the Finnish FINDRISC questions. You get a score, the study's estimated chance that you have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes now, and the points behind it.
Your answers
The published scoring, in our own words. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
Measure around your middle, just above the hip bones, after breathing out.
What you will see
Your CANRISK score, the study's estimated chance of prediabetes or diabetes now, which of the paper's score lines it reaches, and the points behind it.
Educational only, not medical advice. A risk score, not a diagnosis.
Source
Robinson CA, Agarwal G and Nerenberg K, Chronic Diseases and Injuries in Canada 2011. Paper-based points (Table 3), score lines (Table 5) and the probability formula (Appendix A) as printed in the paper.
Validated in
6,223 Canadian adults screened between 2007 and 2011 in seven provinces (British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island), most aged 40 to 74, with large urban sites chosen for a multi-ethnic sample. Everyone had an oral glucose tolerance test. The model was built in 70% of the group and checked in the other 30%.
Limits
CANRISK finds who may have prediabetes or undiagnosed type 2 diabetes now; it does not predict diabetes years ahead and it does not diagnose. It was checked on one blood test occasion. People already known to have diabetes were excluded, and sites differed on whether people with known prediabetes could take part. Latin American and other backgrounds carry no points because the study could not show a difference, not because there is none. Only a blood test (A1C, fasting glucose or a glucose tolerance test) can show whether you have diabetes.
CANRISK, FINDRISC or AUSDRISK?
CANRISK starts from the eight questions of the Finnish FINDRISC calculator (Lindström 2003) and adds sex, ethnicity, education and having had a large baby (Robinson 2011). In the Canadian study group it separated people with and without prediabetes or diabetes better than the FINDRISC score (area under the curve 0.75 against 0.66) (Robinson 2011). The US type 2 diabetes risk test was built in US survey data (Bang 2009), and the AUSDRISK calculator in Australian adults, to predict diabetes over 5 years (Chen 2010). Pick the one built closest to where you live.
The points
| Factor | Answer | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Age | Under 45 / 45 to 54 / 55 to 64 / 65 or older | 0 / 7 / 13 / 15 |
| Sex | Female / Male | 0 / 6 |
| BMI | Under 25 / 25 to 29.9 / 30 to 34.9 / 35 or more | 0 / 4 / 9 / 14 |
| Waist, men | Under 94 cm / 94 to 102 cm / over 102 cm | 0 / 4 / 6 |
| Waist, women | Under 80 cm / 80 to 88 cm / over 88 cm | 0 / 4 / 6 |
| Active 30 minutes a day | No | 1 |
| Vegetables or fruit every day | No | 2 |
| Ever had high blood pressure | Yes | 4 |
| Ever had high blood sugar | Yes | 14 |
| Close relatives with diabetes | Each of mother, father, brother or sister, child | 2 each |
| Mother's background | Aboriginal / Black / East Asian / South Asian | 3 / 5 / 10 / 11 |
| Baby of 4.1 kg (9 lb) or more (women) | Yes | 1 |
| Education | High school diploma / less than high school | 1 / 5 |
Paper-based points from Table 3 of the paper (Robinson 2011). The authors made them by dividing each factor's weight in their model by 0.09393 and rounding; the highest possible total is 81 for women and 86 for men. The paper used the mother's background to stand in for both parents, because the father's background added nothing once the mother's was known (Robinson 2011). Our calculator accepts ages 40 to 74, where most of the study group sat. One inch is 2.54 cm.
Worked example from the paper: a 58-year-old White man whose mother has diabetes and who has no other risk factors scores 13 (age) + 6 (male) + 2 (one relative) = 21 (Robinson 2011).
What the score means
The paper gives a formula that turns the score into the chance of having prediabetes or diabetes at the time of testing in the study group: 1 / (1 + e-m), where m = -3.842 + 0.09393 x score. For the worked example (score 21) that is about 13% (Robinson 2011). In the study, the share with prediabetes or diabetes rose from 2% in the lowest tenth of scores to 57% in the highest tenth (Robinson 2011).
| Score line | Paper's label | Share of cases at or above it | Share without prediabetes or diabetes below it | Had prediabetes or diabetes, at or above it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 or more | Slightly elevated | 95% | 28% | 25% |
| 29 or more | Moderate | 80% | 55% | 31% |
| 32 or more | Balanced | 70% | 67% | 35% |
| 33 or more | High | 66% | 70% | 36% |
| 43 or more | Very high | 30% | 94% | 55% |
Table 5 of the paper (sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value in the check group) (Robinson 2011). The authors note these lines are arbitrary and do not necessarily mark the right screening cut-offs; 32 is the line that best balanced missed cases against false alarms (Robinson 2011).
What to do with your result
A score of 21 or more is a reason to ask your doctor about an A1C or fasting glucose test, and a score of 33 or more a stronger one. In the US, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in adults aged 35 to 70 who have overweight or obesity (USPSTF 2021), whatever any risk score says.
See also the FINDRISC calculator, the AUSDRISK calculator, the UK Leicester diabetes risk score, the type 2 diabetes risk test, when to get tested for diabetes, prediabetes ranges and next steps, the BMI calculator and the waist circumference check.
Sources
- Robinson CA, Agarwal G, Nerenberg K. Validating the CANRISK prognostic model for assessing diabetes risk in Canada's multi-ethnic population. Chronic Dis Inj Can. 2011;32(1):19-31. PMID 22153173. www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/health-promotion-chronic-disease-prevention-canada-research-policy-practice/vol-32-no-1-2011/validating-canrisk-prognostic-model-assessing-diabetes-risk-canadas-multi-ethnic-population.html
- Lindström J, Tuomilehto J. The diabetes risk score: a practical tool to predict type 2 diabetes risk. Diabetes Care. 2003;26(3):725-731. PMID 12610029. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12610029/
- US Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes: Recommendation Statement. JAMA. 2021;326(8):736-743. www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/screening-for-prediabetes-and-type-2-diabetes
- Bang H, Edwards AM, Bomback AS, et al. Development and validation of a patient self-assessment score for diabetes risk. Ann Intern Med. 2009;151(11):775-783. doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-151-11-200912010-00005
- Chen L, Magliano DJ, Balkau B, et al. AUSDRISK: an Australian Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Tool based on demographic, lifestyle and simple anthropometric measures. Med J Aust. 2010;192(4):197-202. PMID 20170456. www.mja.com.au/journal/2010/192/4/ausdrisk-australian-type-2-diabetes-risk-assessment-tool-based-demographic
Written and maintained by the uncovermyrisk.com editorial team. We do not have a medical reviewer; every claim links to its primary source above. Last reviewed: 2026-11-01. Spotted an error? See About.