Skip to main content
Quest Diagnostics

Cardio IQ® Insulin Resistance

Know what’s ahead—the earlier, the better

Insulin resistance (IR) testing offers significant—and often untapped—clinical value and can help you and your patients take action to avoid or change the course of prediabetes and diabetes.1

  • Patients can have normal glucose and HbA1c, but their beta cells may be struggling with glucose load, leading to IR, and subsequently prediabetes and diabetes
  • IR can be gradual and difficult to recognize1—patients must be identified while there is still time to reverse course
  • IR is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)1

Know more with IR testing from Quest Diagnostics

Quest offers the Cardio IQ® Insulin Resistance Panel with Score, a simple, accurate, and actionable way to assess IR and identify prediabetes and diabetes risk. It’s the only routine insulin resistance score validated against the gold standard.

  • Validated in a Stanford University study of 535 individuals without diabetes or cardiovascular disease3 against the insulin suppression test, a gold standard method for the direct measurement of insulin resistance
  • Provides an enhanced assessment of IR through the combined measurement of insulin and C-peptide from a single fasting blood specimen
  • Offers greater discrimination of IR compared to either insulin or C-peptide levels alone and a better assessment of IR status than TG/HDL or HOMA-IR3
  • Detects IR and possible risk of prediabetes or diabetes before traditional markers can

A better assessment of insulin resistance³

"The odds of having IR are nearly 7-fold greater for individuals in the top quartile of the IR score than those who aren't.³"

Identify IR and take action to change its course

Patients whose risk factors for IR may not be as evident may benefit from testing. These include:

  • Patients with normal glucose and HbA1c who may be at risk3
  • Individuals with clinical features associated with IR
  • Overweight/obese
  • Central obesity
  • Family history of diabetes
  • A history of gestational diabetes mellitus
  • Hypertension
  • Acanthosis nigricans

Relevance of insulin resistance score, even in lean patients3

What actions might you consider?5-10

  • Counsel patients on lifestyle changes, such as increasing physical activity, losing weight, and adhering to a healthy diet
  • Employ pharmaceutical interventions that increase insulin sensitivity or induce weight loss

Risk score report: the Cardio IQ® Insulin Resistance Panel with Score gives you an effective counseling tool for patients who need to make lifestyle changes.

Test Name Patient Preparation Test Code CPT Codes*
Cardio IQ® Insulin Resistance
Panel with Score		 Overnight fasting
required		 36509(x) 83525,
84681

*The CPT codes provided are based on AMA guidelines and are for informational purposes only. CPT coding is the sole responsibility of the billing party. Please direct any questions regarding coding to the payer being billed.

Identify insulin resistance—simply and accurately

References

  1. Reaven GM. The insulin resistance syndrome. Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2003;5:364-371.
  2. American Heart Association. About diabetes. Available at www.heart.org/en/health-topics/diabetes/about-diabetes. Accessed August 17, 2018.
  3. Abbasi F, Shiffman D, Tong CH, et al. Insulin resistance probability scores for apparently healthy individuals. J Endocr Soc. 2018;2:1050-1057.
  4. Holman, RR. Assessing the potential for alpha-glucosidase inhibitors in prediabetic states. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 1998;40 Suppl:S21-5.
  5. Knowler WC, Barrett-Connor E, Fowler SE, et al. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med. 2002;346:393-403.
  6. Daniel S, Soleymani T, Garvey WT. A complications based clinical staging of obesity to guide treatment modality and intensity. Cur Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2013;20:377-388.
  7. Torgerson JS, Hauptman J, Boldrin MN, et al. XENical in the prevention of diabetes in obese subjects (XENDOS) study: A randomized study of orlistat as an adjunct to lifestyle changes for the prevention of type 2 diabetes in obese patients. Diabetes Care. 2004;27:155-161.
  8. Garvey WT, Ryan DH, Henry R, et al. Prevention of type 2 diabetes in subjects with prediabetes and metabolic syndrome treated with phentermine and topiramate extended release. Diabetes Care. 2014;37:912-921.
  9. American Diabetes Association, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Disorders. The prevention or delay of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2002;25:742-749.
  10. Genuth S, Kahn R. A step backward—or is it forward? Diabetes Care. 2008;31:1093-1096.



During the COVID-19 health crisis, fast action and trusted information matter more than ever.

Find out what's happening

Learn More

Early diagnostics insight

Our company

Quest® is the brand name used for services offered by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated and its affiliated companies. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated and certain affiliates are CLIA-certified laboratories that provide HIPAA-covered services.  Other affiliates operated under the Quest® brand, such as Quest Consumer Inc., do not provide HIPAA-covered services. 

 

Quest®, Quest Diagnostics®, any associated logos, and all associated Quest Diagnostics registered or unregistered trademarks are the property of Quest Diagnostics. All third-party marks—® and ™—are the property of their respective owners. © 2025 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. All rights reserved. Image content features models and is intended for illustrative purposes only.