Researchers sought to analyze if the cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) staging construct applies to young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds.In this cohort study, only 20% of people age 22 or so had no CKM risk factors.A more advanced CKM stage was associated with more cardiovascular risk factors and greater evidence of early arterial injury.
The relatively new concept of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) staging got further validation for young adults, based on a study in an urban population.
Among FF-CHAYA study participants followed from birth, the cardiovascular health scores in their early 20s fell in line with CKM staging (P<0.001). Scores on Life's Essential 8 averaged 77.6 in stage 0 (no risk factors), 70.0 in stage 1 CKM (excess adiposity), 63.8 in stage 2 CKM (metabolic risk factors), and 64.4 in stage 3 CKM (subclinical cardiovascular disease or advanced kidney disease).
In addition, CKM stages corresponded to early markers of carotid arterial injury in young adulthood. CKM stages 1-3 were associated with significantly higher mean-maximum carotid intima-medial thicknesses compared with stage 0, for instance, 0.014 mm thicker for stage 1, 0.020 mm thicker for stage 2, and 0.100 mm thicker for stage 3, reported Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM, of Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and colleagues in Circulation: Population Health and Outcomes.
