Prevalence and Distribution of Stages of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (Ckm) Syndrome in Poland.

Objective: Cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome is a newly recognized disease entity, introduced by the American Heart Association in 2023, which describes the coexistence and interdependence of three groups of disorders: cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, and metabolic disturbances, including obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia. The aim of this study is to assess the distribution of CKM syndrome stages in Poland, a country representing Central and Eastern Europe.Design and method: To assess the prevalence and distribution of CKM syndrome stages, we used the database from the NATPOL 2011 survey. This was a cross-sectional, national study conducted on a representative sample of the adult Polish population. All participants completed a questionnaire covering previously diagnosed chronic conditions (hypertension, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, peripheral artery disease, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes mellitus) and underwent anthropometric measurements (body weight, height, and waist circumference), blood tests (creatinine, glucose, HbA1c, and lipid profile), urine tests (albumin and creatinine), and blood pressure measurements. The stage of CKM syndrome was determined for each subject in accordance with AHA criteria, including assessment of 10-year CVD risk with the AHA PREVENT calculator. Results: A total of 1,905 individuals aged 30–79 years were included in the study. The mean (SD) age was 51.7 (13.5) years, 51.4% women. 53,2% were diagnosed with hypertension ((ACC/AHA Guidelines). The results (Table 1) indicate that only 15.2% of participants met the criteria for stage 0, while 85.0% were classified as stages 1–4: 13.5% as stage 1, 51.6% as stage 2, 4.8% as stage 3, and 14.9% as stage 4. Advanced stages (3–4) were diagnosed in 19.7% of participants. Adults aged 65 years or older were more likely to have advanced stages than younger individuals (64.5% vs. 14.8% in those aged 45–64 years and 1.5% aged 30–44 years). Conclusions: CKM is a prevalent condition in the Polish population, particularly among older adults. One in five individuals meets the criteria for advanced disease stages, and more than half are diagnosed with stage 2. These findings underscore the need for further epidemiological analyses and the implementation of a comprehensive, integrated management approach.