The first Cardio-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) Health National Conclave 2026, which concluded at Thiruvalla on Sunday has called for an integrated strategy for the prevention and management of diabetes, hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease, the burden of which has been rising steadily in Keralam.

The conclave, the first platform to bring the cardio-kidney-metabolic framework together, highlighted the need to address all the lifestyle diseases together in clinical practice as these diseases share an underlying pathophysiology of excess adipose tissue, which lead to insulin resistance and metabolic abnormalities, which could affect the heart, kidneys and other organs as well

Organised by the National Resource Centre for Non-Communicable Diseases and Believers Church Medical College Hospital, Thiruvalla, from September 25-27, the conclave brought together over 400 healthcare professionals, public health experts and policy makers, who debated on the simple,sustainable and cost-effective interventions that can be implemented at the community level to prevent CKM syndrome

The programme was conducted in partnership with the World NCD Federation, Directorate of Health Services, Keralam, National Health Mission and Kerala Nephrology Association.

CKM syndrome is defined as “a health disorder attributable to connections among obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and cardiovascular disease (CVD), including heart failure, atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease.”

It was in 2023 that the American Heart Association (AHA) reconceptualised metabolic syndrome as a one of the stages of a larger cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, providing for a better understanding of the interconnected roles of cardiac, renal and metabolic factors.

The discussions emphasised the need to move beyond disease-specific management towards an integrated approach encompassing primordial and primary prevention, early risk identification, lifestyle modification, nutrition, physical activity and community engagement.

Delivering the keynote address, J. S. Thakur, president of the World NCD Federation and Professor and Head of the School of Public Health, PGIMER, Chandigarh, deliberated on the challenges involved in bringing cardio-kidney-metabolic health into the mainstream strategies for NCD prevention.

Cherian Varghese, public health expert and former WHO consultant, spoke about how Kerala needed to evolve strategies for addressing cardiovascular, renal and metabolic health issues in a coordinated and manner across the health system

Perspectives from medicine, public health, nutrition, exercise, sleep, and mental well-being were brought in to emphasize how the interplay of these can affect CKM syndrome

The importance of physical activity in preventing metabolic disorders, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease, genetic factors influencing metabolic syndrome, the often overlooked role of sleep and stress in perpetuating metabolic syndrome were also discussed

The State Mission Director, Aarogya Keralam, Renu Raj; S. S. Lal Chairman, Kerala State Committee for Epidemic Control also spoke on policy interventions needed to bring the focus on the prevention of CKM syndrome.

A CKM Declaration, incorporating recommendations of the conclave on the policy interventions and preventive strategies that Keralam’s health system needs to put in place will be formally released in the capital at a later date