FRIDAY, Aug. 21, 2026 (HealthDay News) — A surprising number of young adults have early signs of a metabolic disorder that could have a lasting impact on their health, a new study says.

Nearly 8 of 10 people with an average age of 23 had signs of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome, otherwise known as CKM syndrome, researchers reported Aug. 20 in the journal Circulation: Population Health and Outcomes.

CKM syndrome describes the interconnected relationship of obesity, diabetes, kidney disease and heart disease, researchers said in background notes.

Early signs of CKM syndrome can include high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, insulin resistance, prediabetes, kidney disease or type 2 diabetes, according to the American Heart Association.

For the new study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 1,300 young adults participating in a long-term study of family health.

The research team evaluated each person’s heart health by determining their CKM syndrome stage. The team also checked for signs of artery damage using ultrasound imaging.

Nearly 80% met criteria for CKM syndrome stages 1, 2 or 3, meaning they already had excess body fat, metabolic risk factors or early evidence of endangered heart health, researchers said.

A small number of participants with more advanced CKM syndrome already had early signs of artery damage, increasing their risk of heart attack and stroke, researchers said.

Nearly 3% had progressed to stage 3, with artery damage, researchers said. None had progressed to the most serious stage, CKM stage 4, in which people have developed full-blown heart disease or kidney failure.

These results highlight the need to educate young adults about the heart-healthy habits enshrined in the Life’s Essential 8 list, which provides a heart risk score based on a person’s health and lifestyle, researchers said.

“The study shows that CKM syndrome staging and Life’s Essential 8 are complementary for identifying adults younger than age 30 who may be on the fast track for arterial injury, plaque build-up and, ultimately, at higher risk for future cardiovascular events,” senior researcher Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones said in a news release. He is a professor of medicine at Boston University.

The health behaviors and health factors in Life's Essential 8 include:

Eating better
Being active
Avoiding tobacco
Getting the sleep you need
Managing your weight
Controlling cholesterol
Managing blood sugar
Controlling blood pressure

Only about 21% of the young adults had no identifiable risk factors for CKM, the study found.

However, people with more advanced CKM syndrome stages also had lower heart health scores, as measured by Life’s Essential 8.

“For people in their 20s, we want to focus on improving cardiovascular health,” Lloyd-Jones said.

“In my practice, and what I would recommend, is that the conversation focuses on Life’s Essential 8 and optimizing as many of those metrics as possible for better health today and long term,” Lloyd-Jones added.

More information

The American Heart Association has more on CKM syndrome.

SOURCE: American Heart Association, news release, Aug. 20, 2026

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Nearly 8 In 10 Young Adults Are In Early Stages Of Metabolic Disorder, Study Finds