Abstract Background Insulin resistance is associated with the development of hypertension, whereas there were rare studies comparing various non-insulin based insulin resistance (NI-IR) indices for the possibility of hypertension among young and middle-aged adults. Methods This cross-sectional study included a total of 4,080 military personnel, aged 18–50 years, without antihypertensive medications therapy in 2014. All subjects received annual health examinations for blood pressure (BP) measurements. Stage I isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH) and isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) and combined hypertension were respectively defined as systolic BP (SBP)