OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the risk of developing diabetes mellitus in users of a voluntary insurance, in Colombia, through the application of the FINDRISC scale, and thus set priorities in the care of said users.

METHODS: The use of the FINDRISC scale was applied to a sample of affiliates 18 or older, which corresponded to a 10% of the population who voluntarily chose to assist to a consultation and the application of the scale, which has already been implemented in several countries. The characterization of the population leads to an analysis of the data which in turn allowed to classify the patients into groups of low, medium and high risk.

RESULTS: As a result of the analysis, 37.2% of users present low risk, 21.2% moderate risk, and 41.6% high risk of developing the condition. The latter one showed a mean age of 57, with a 59% prevalence of women and 41% in men. High risk was associated with habits such as the lack of physical activity (96.5%), and the lack of consumption of fruits and vegetables (95.4%). Furthermore, 62.2% of the group presented family records of diabetes in a first and second degree of consanguinity

CONCLUSIONS: The applicability and utility of the scale in the characterization of a population, which is to be intervened, has been proven. It has allowed a reallocation of the population of medium and high-risk groups into an integral attention program which focuses in the self-management of a healthier lifestyle in order to create a positive impact in general well-being, events which are to be the focus of further/newer investigations.