Association between different stages of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome and the risk of all-cause mortality

Background and aims: Poor cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) health is a major determinant of all-cause mortality, which poses a significant burden on global public health systems and socio-economics. However, the association between different stages of CKM syndrome and the risk of all-cause mortality remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association between different stages of CKM syndrome and risk of all-cause mortality. Methods: A total of 97,777 adults from the Kailuan Study were included. Cox proportional hazards regression models were applied to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) of all-cause mortality according to different stages of CKM syndrome. Results: Over a median follow-up of 15.0 (14.7–15.2) years, we identified 14,805 all-cause mortality cases. The stage of CKM syndrome was positively associated with the risk of all-cause mortality (p-trend <0.001). Compared with Stage 0, the multivariable-adjusted HRs (95 % CIs) of all-cause mortality were 1.24 (1.06–1.45) for Stage 1, 1.72 (1.48–2.00) for Stage 2, 2.58 (2.22–3.01) for Stage 3 and 3.73 (3.19–4.37) for Stage 4. Moreover, the observed associations were more pronounced in younger adults (aged <60 years) compared with older adults (p for interaction <0.001). Conclusions: Our data showed that a higher stage of CKM syndrome was associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality, with a particularly pronounced association observed in younger adults. The study emphasized the need for targeted public health strategies and clinical management tailored to the stages of CKM syndrome, aiming to alleviate its burden on individuals and healthcare systems.