More Advanced CKM Syndrome Linked to Worse Cardiovascular Health

TUESDAY, Sept. 8, 2026 (HealthDay News) — For young adults, more advanced cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome is associated with worse cardiovascular health, according to a study published online Aug. 20 in Circulation: Population Health and Outcomes.

Vaishnavi Krishnan, from the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and colleagues examined how the CKM staging construct applies to young adults. CKM stages were defined in the Future of Families-Cardiovascular Health Among Young Adults (FF-CHAYA) study. Cardiovascular health was measured using Life”s Essential 8 scores, and the cross-sectional associations of CKM stages with Life”s Essential 8 scores and carotid ultrasonography measures were examined.

Of the 1,283 FF-CHAYA participants, 20.7, 40.2, 36.2, and 2.8 percent were classified as stage 0 CKM (no risk factors), stage 1 CKM (excess adiposity), stage 2 CKM (metabolic risk factors), and stage 3 CKM (subclinical cardiovascular disease or advanced kidney disease), respectively. The researchers found that participants in stages 1 to 3 had significantly lower Life”s Essential 8 scores than those in stage 0 (β = −7.6, −13.9, and −13.2 for stages 1, 2, and 3, respectively). Compared with stage 0, stages 1 to 3 also had significantly higher mean-mean and mean-maximum carotid intima-medial thickness and lower gray scale median. For example, mean-maximum carotid intima-medial thickness was 0.014, 0.020, and 0.100 mm higher for stages 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

“In my practice, and what I would recommend, is that the conversation focuses on Life”s Essential 8 and optimizing as many of those metrics as possible for better health today and long term,” coauthor Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, M.D., Sc.M., also from the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, said in a statement.

Abstract/Full Text