First CKM Conclave Calls For Integrated Fight Against Lifestyle Diseases

The first Cardio-Kidney-Metabolic Health National Conclave 2026 concluded at Thiruvalla on Sunday with a call for an integrated strategy to prevent and manage diabetes, hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease in Keralam.

The conclave said the burden of these conditions has been rising steadily in Keralam, making coordinated prevention and management a public health priority.

First national platform for CKM framework

The conclave was described as the first platform to bring the cardio-kidney-metabolic framework together.

It highlighted the need to address lifestyle diseases together in clinical practice, rather than treating them only as separate conditions.

The discussions were based on the understanding that these diseases share an underlying pathophysiology of excess adipose tissue, which can lead to insulin resistance and metabolic abnormalities.

Those metabolic abnormalities could affect the heart, kidneys and other organs as well, the conclave highlighted.

The programme was organised by the National Resource Centre for Non-Communicable Diseases and Believers Church Medical College Hospital, Thiruvalla, from September 25-27.

It brought together over 400 healthcare professionals, public health experts and policy makers.

Participants debated 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.

What CKM syndrome means

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.”

The American Heart Association reconceptualised metabolic syndrome in 2023 as one of the stages of a larger cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome.

That framework provides for a better understanding of the interconnected roles of cardiac, renal and metabolic factors.

The conclave’s focus on a combined approach was therefore tied to the way obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease are connected within the CKM framework.

Shift from disease-specific care

The discussions emphasised the need to move beyond disease-specific management.

Participants called for an integrated approach that includes primordial and primary prevention, early risk identification, lifestyle modification, nutrition, physical activity and community engagement.

This approach placed prevention and early identification alongside clinical management, reflecting the conclave’s emphasis on community-level interventions.

J. S. Thakur, president of the World NCD Federation and Professor and Head of the School of Public Health, PGIMER, Chandigarh, delivered the keynote address.

He 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 manner across the health system.

Wider determinants discussed

The conclave also brought in perspectives from medicine, public health, nutrition, exercise, sleep and mental well-being.

These perspectives were used to emphasise how the interplay of these areas can affect CKM syndrome.

The importance of physical activity in preventing metabolic disorders was discussed.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease was also taken up in the discussions.

Genetic factors influencing metabolic syndrome were discussed as part of the wider CKM conversation.

The conclave also discussed the often overlooked role of sleep and stress in perpetuating metabolic syndrome.

State Mission Director, Aarogya Keralam, Renu Raj, also spoke at the programme.

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 will incorporate the recommendations of the conclave on policy interventions and preventive strategies that Keralam’s health system needs to put in place.

The declaration will be formally released in the capital at a later date.

Source: The Hindu