Diabetes risk, 10 years ahead
FINDRISC calculator (Finnish Diabetes Risk Score)
FINDRISC is an 8-question score from Finland that estimates the chance of developing type 2 diabetes over the next 10 years. You get a score from 0 to 26, its risk group and the points behind it.
Your answers
Questions follow the published questionnaire, in our own words. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
What you will see
Your FINDRISC score out of 26, its risk group with the 10-year chance printed on the questionnaire, and the points behind it.
Educational only, not medical advice. A risk score, not a diagnosis.
Source
Lindström J and Tuomilehto J, Diabetes Care 2003 (the original score). Item points and risk groups as printed in the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care's 2012 clinician calculator, which uses the FINDRISC questionnaire by the same authors.
Validated in
Built in a random population sample of Finnish adults aged 35 to 64 in 1987 (4,435 people, 182 new cases of drug-treated type 2 diabetes over 10 years), and checked in a separate Finnish survey from 1992 followed for 5 years.
Limits
Predicts future drug-treated type 2 diabetes; it does not diagnose diabetes or prediabetes. Built in Finnish adults aged 35 to 64, so it may fit other ages, ethnic groups and countries less well. Only a blood test (A1C or fasting glucose) can show whether you have diabetes now.
FINDRISC or the ADA test: which one?
They answer different questions. The type 2 diabetes risk test (the score behind the American Diabetes Association test) was built to flag adults in the US who may already have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (Bang 2009). FINDRISC looks ahead: it was built to predict who goes on to need medicine for type 2 diabetes within 10 years (Lindström 2003). If you live in the US, the ADA test was developed in US survey data; FINDRISC was developed in Finland.
The points
| Question | Answer | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 18 to 44 / 45 to 54 / 55 to 64 / 65 or older | 0 / 2 / 3 / 4 |
| BMI | Under 25.0 / 25.0 to 29.9 / 30.0 or higher | 0 / 1 / 3 |
| Waist, men | Under 94 cm (about 37 in) / 94 to 102 cm / over 102 cm (about 40 in) | 0 / 3 / 4 |
| Waist, women | Under 80 cm (about 31 in) / 80 to 88 cm / over 88 cm (about 35 in) | 0 / 3 / 4 |
| Active more than 30 minutes every day | Yes / No | 0 / 2 |
| Vegetables and fruit | Every day / Not every day | 0 / 1 |
| Ever on regular blood pressure medicine | No / Yes | 0 / 2 |
| Ever found to have high blood sugar | No / Yes | 0 / 5 |
| Relative with diabetes | No / grandparent, aunt, uncle or first cousin / parent, sibling or own child | 0 / 3 / 5 |
Points as printed in the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care's clinician calculator (CTFPHC 2012). The highest possible total is 26.
The risk groups
| Score | Risk group | Chance of developing diabetes within 10 years, as printed |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 14 | Low to moderate | 1% to 17% |
| 15 to 20 | High | 33% |
| 21 or more | Very high | 50% |
Groups and figures from the Canadian Task Force calculator (CTFPHC 2012). They are averages for groups of people, not a forecast for one person.
Where the score comes from
Finnish researchers followed a random sample of adults aged 35 to 64 who were not taking diabetes medicine for 10 years, and found new cases of drug-treated type 2 diabetes in the national drug registry (Lindström 2003). Age, BMI, waist size, blood pressure medicine, a history of high blood sugar, physical activity and daily fruit, berries or vegetables made up the original score, which ran from 0 to 20 (Lindström 2003). In that paper, a score of 9 or more picked up 78% and 81% of later cases in the two Finnish groups, but only 13% and 5% of the people above that line went on to drug-treated diabetes in the follow-up (Lindström 2003). The questionnaire used today, as printed by the Canadian Task Force, adds family history and a group for age 65 and older (CTFPHC 2012).
What to do with your result
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. The Canadian Task Force advises A1C screening every 3 to 5 years for a score of 15 to 20 and every year for 21 or more (CTFPHC 2012). A high score is a good reason to ask your doctor about an A1C or fasting glucose test.
See also when to get tested for diabetes, prediabetes ranges and next steps, the BMI calculator and the waist-to-height ratio.
Sources
- 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/
- Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care. Screening for Type 2 Diabetes in the Adult Population: Type 2 Diabetes Risk Calculator for Clinicians (FINDRISC questionnaire by J. Lindström and J. Tuomilehto). 2012. canadiantaskforce.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2012-type-2-diabetes-clinician-findrisc-en.pdf
- 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
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.