Diabetes and prediabetes risk
Chinese Diabetes Risk Score
A six-question score built from a national survey in China to spot adults who may have type 2 diabetes without knowing it. You get your score out of 51, whether it reaches the cut-off of 25, and the points behind it.
Your answers
Based on the New Chinese Diabetes Risk Score, in our own words. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
Measure halfway between your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone.
Use a recent reading from a clinic or a home monitor.
What you will see
Your Chinese Diabetes Risk Score out of 51, whether it reaches the cut-off of 25 and the points behind it.
Educational only, not medical advice. A risk score, not a diagnosis.
Source
Zhou X et al., Diabetes Care 2013 (open access): points from Table 2 of the paper, the score range of 0 to 51 and the cut-off of 25.
Validated in
Built in 41,809 adults aged 20 to 74 without known diabetes from the China National Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders Study (2007 to 2008), all given a glucose tolerance test. Tested in adults aged 35 to 74 in Qingdao, China: 1,162 people followed from 2006 to 2009 for new diabetes, and a separate 2009 survey for diabetes already present.
Limits
The score looks for type 2 diabetes you may already have; it does not diagnose. It was built in China and checked only in Qingdao, and the authors say it needs testing in other parts of China, so it may fit other groups less well. At the cut-off of 25 it flags most people with diabetes but also many without it. People already diagnosed with diabetes should not use it.
Chinese score, IDRS, Leicester or the US test?
All of these ask about age, body size and family history, but they were built in different places. The New Chinese Diabetes Risk Score comes from a national survey in China and also asks for your blood pressure and BMI (Zhou 2013). The Indian Diabetes Risk Score was built in Chennai, India (Mohan 2005), and the UK Leicester diabetes risk score in a multi-ethnic group (Gray 2010). The FINDRISC calculator comes from Finland and predicts diabetes over 10 years (Lindström 2003), and the US type 2 diabetes risk test was built in US survey data (Bang 2009). Pick the one built closest to where you live and who you are.
The points
| Factor | Answer | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 20 to 24 / 25 to 34 / 35 to 39 / 40 to 44 / 45 to 49 / 50 to 54 / 55 to 59 / 60 to 64 / 65 to 74 | 0 / 4 / 8 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 15 / 16 / 18 |
| BMI | Under 22 / 22 to 23.9 / 24 to 29.9 / 30 or more | 0 / 1 / 3 / 5 |
| Waist, men | Under 75 cm / 75 to 79.9 / 80 to 84.9 / 85 to 89.9 / 90 to 94.9 / 95 or more | 0 / 3 / 5 / 7 / 8 / 10 |
| Waist, women | Under 70 cm / 70 to 74.9 / 75 to 79.9 / 80 to 84.9 / 85 to 89.9 / 90 or more | 0 / 3 / 5 / 7 / 8 / 10 |
| Systolic blood pressure | Under 110 / 110 to 119 / 120 to 129 / 130 to 139 / 140 to 149 / 150 to 159 / 160 or more mmHg | 0 / 1 / 3 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 10 |
| Diabetes in a parent, brother, sister or child | No / yes | 0 / 6 |
| Sex | Female / male | 0 / 2 |
Points from Table 2 of the paper, which turned the weights from the authors' statistical model into whole points with a total of 0 to 51 (Zhou 2013). Family history means diabetes in a parent, brother, sister or child (Zhou 2013). We work out BMI from your height and weight. One inch is 2.54 cm and one pound is 0.4536 kg.
Example: a 52-year-old woman with a BMI of 26, a waist of 82 cm, a systolic blood pressure of 135 and no family history scores 13 (age) + 3 (BMI) + 7 (waist) + 6 (blood pressure) = 29, above the cut-off of 25.
What the score means
The authors chose 25 as the best cut-off. In the people followed in Qingdao, a score of 25 or more picked up 92.3% of those who went on to develop type 2 diabetes, but only 35.5% of those who did not scored under 25. In the 2009 Qingdao survey the figures were 86.8% and 38.8% (Zhou 2013). So most people with diabetes score 25 or more, but so do many people without it: about two in three people in the Qingdao groups scored 25 or more. A higher cut-off of 30 flagged fewer people without diabetes but missed more of those with it (Zhou 2013).
The score told people with and without diabetes apart with an area under the curve of 0.748 in the survey it was built from, and 0.725 and 0.702 in the two Qingdao groups (Zhou 2013).
What to do with your result
A score of 25 or more is a reason to ask your doctor about a blood sugar test such as an A1C, a fasting glucose or a glucose tolerance test. A score under 25 does not rule diabetes out. 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 Korean diabetes risk score, the Japanese diabetes risk score, the Indian Diabetes Risk Score, the Leicester diabetes risk score, the FINDRISC calculator, the CANRISK calculator, the AUSDRISK calculator, 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
- Zhou X, Qiao Q, Ji L, et al. Nonlaboratory-based risk assessment algorithm for undiagnosed type 2 diabetes developed on a nation-wide diabetes survey. Diabetes Care. 2013;36(12):3944-3952. doi:10.2337/dc13-0593. PMID 24144651. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3836161/
- 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
- Mohan V, Deepa R, Deepa M, Somannavar S, Datta M. A simplified Indian Diabetes Risk Score for screening for undiagnosed diabetic subjects. J Assoc Physicians India. 2005;53:759-763. PMID 16334618. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16334618/
- Gray LJ, Taub NA, Khunti K, Gardiner E, Hiles S, Webb DR, Srinivasan BT, Davies MJ. The Leicester Risk Assessment score for detecting undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose regulation for use in a multiethnic UK setting. Diabet Med. 2010;27(8):887-895. PMID 20653746. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20653746/
- 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/
- 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
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.