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A new analysis of U.S. national health data finds that high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), a blood marker of inflammation, rises across the stages of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, with the largest increase at the earliest stage.

The study, a collaboration between researchers at the University of Eastern Finland and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, was published open access in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology and presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2026.

The American Heart Association introduced CKM syndrome in 2023 to describe how heart disease, kidney disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes are linked. It runs from stage 0 (no risk factors) and stage 1 (excess or unhealthy body fat) through stage 2 (conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease) to stages 3 and 4 (early and established heart disease).

The team analyzed data from 4,315 adults in the 2015–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Participants' average age was 48 years, and half were women. Average hs-CRP nearly doubled between stage 0 and stage 1, the largest change seen across all stages, and crossed 2 mg/L, the level commonly used to signal increased cardiovascular risk. From stage 1 onward, average levels stayed above this threshold, rising only modestly at stage 2 before leveling off.

The findings suggest that inflammation is already present at the first stage of CKM syndrome.

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