The performance of the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score, a modified Finnish Diabetes Risk Score and a simplified Finnish Diabetes Risk Score in community-based cross-sectional screening of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes in the Philippines

AIM: The performance of the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) and 2 modifications in community screening for undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (UDD) in the Philippines was evaluated.

METHODS: Active community-based screening for diabetes was conducted where FINDRISC assessment was done. Modified (modFINDRISC) and simplified (simpFINDRISC) versions were rendered based on Asian standards, study results, and local context. Diabetes was diagnosed through 2 separate blood glucose tests. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC) and statistics for diagnostic tests for FINDRISC and the modifications were analyzed.

RESULTS: Complete data was collected from 1752 people aged 20-92; 8.6% tested positive for diabetes. ROC-AUC for UDD were 0.738 (FINDRISC), 0.743 (modFINDRISC) and 0.752 (simpFINDRISC). The differences between the FINDRISC and the modifications were not statistically significant (p=0.172).

CONCLUSIONS: The performance of all 3 risk score calculators in the screening for UDD in the Philippines was good and may be useful in populations having similar characteristics. Considering the setting and resource constraints, the simpFINDRISC is preferred.