Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome: a Macroeconomic perspective

Investment Analysis Clubs Macro Economic Trends and Risks
1

Diabetes, Heart Problems and Kidney Disease Are Closely Linked

And they’re increasingly common. Here’s what to know about the shared risk factors for these diseases.

By Knvul Sheikh, The New York Times, May 15, 2024

Heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease are among the most common chronic illnesses in the United States — and they’re all closely connected.

Adults with diabetes are twice as likely to have heart disease or a stroke compared with those who don’t have diabetes. People with diabetes — Type 1 and Type 2 — are also at risk of developing kidney disease. And when the kidneys don’t work well, a person’s heart has to work even harder to pump blood to them, which can then lead to heart disease…

A new study suggests that nearly 90 percent of American adults already show some early signs of these connected conditions.…

The research suggests that people should pay attention to shared risk factors for these diseases early on — including excess body fat, uncontrolled blood sugar, high blood pressure and high cholesterol or triglyceride levels…

Adding more fiber, fruit and vegetables to your diet can help regulate blood sugar and reduce blood pressure. Increasing muscle mass through strength training has been shown to help with insulin resistance. And any kind of movement can be beneficial in managing your blood sugar and blood pressure. Experts recommend aiming for 150 minutes of exercise every week…[end quote]

This article addresses CKM Syndrome in detail.

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001184?utm_campaign=sciencenews22-23&utm_source=science-news&utm_medium=phd-link&utm_content=phd-10-09-23

I was absolutely stunned to see that 90% of Americans show some signs of this condition and 15 percent of Americans meet the criteria for advanced stages of C.K.M. syndrome, meaning they have been diagnosed with diabetes, heart disease or kidney disease or are at high risk of developing them. The treatments for all these problems are expensive and lifelong.

A good friend of mine died from complications of diabetes. He lost both his legs. He didn’t have kidney failure, blindness or dementia when he died at age 62 although all these are also correlated with diabetes. He spent many weeks in the hospital. I’m sure his bills were over a million dollars.

There’s a long list of associated issues that increase the risk. These include belonging to high-risk demographic groups (individuals of South Asian ancestry and those with low socioeconomic status) and having a family history of diabetes or kidney failure, sleep disorders, mental health disorders, chronic inflammatory conditions, sex-specific risk enhancers (including premature menopausal transition, adverse pregnancy outcomes and polycystic ovarian disease), and higher adverse socioeconomic burden.

That’s a lot of people. Treating them will cost a massive amount of money.

This is truly a Macroeconomic problem.

Wendy

6 Likes
2

Wall-E. To eventually be this generation’s 1984.

image

1 Like
3

Being a former medical professional, I’m stunned it is not 95-99%.

4 Likes
4

Frédéric Bastiat coined the phrase:

What is seen and what is not seen

While I was obese and suffering from insulin resistance and the many ailments that it induces I was also degenerating in less obvious ways. I had to have new glasses every couple of years and lots of visit to the dentist to treat caries. Then I lost weight and the ailments reversed. I have not taken any drugs for the past ten years or so.

What was not seen is that I haven’t had caries or the need for new glasses for a very long time, maybe a decade or more. The accelerated degeneration stopped! Now I’m just getting older.

The Captain

6 Likes
5

did an annual trip to the Big City for an MLB game, 10 of us parked about 6 city blocks from the stadium, in a safe area ( day game ). Was pretty surprised when 7 of the 10 could not make the 6 block walk to the game, had to wait for a shuttle bus, in beautiful weather tailor made for a nice stretch of the legs. Feel bad for them, it’s not like they were faking it and just didn’t want to walk, they truly struggle with walking.

8 Likes
6

@UpNorthJoe how old were they? I’m asking because many middle-aged people are developing maladies that used to be typical of old age. These middle-aged people will need expensive medical care at a younger age than prior generations.

Wendy

1 Like
7

I suspect the stress of living a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle is often overlooked in terms of it’s impact on physical health.

–Peter

1 Like
8

What do you mean by “overlooked”? As far as I can see, socioeconomic status is a data point collected in nearly every medical study, a least almost all the recent ones. Even the less formal ones that I’ve been participating in for a few years now.

9

Wendy, age ranges were 65-72, so not middle aged. I was the kid, lol. I’ve known most of them since I was a kid via my siblings, and they were active people a few decades ago. A couple of the guys had physically demanding jobs that surely contributed to it. The ladies did not have physically demanding jobs, but probably just fell into a sedentary lifestyle.

( I am in no way passing judgement or scorn on these folks, I like them and think highly of them, and enjoy their company. I make an effort to quietly help them if it’s needed. It really stands out how oh so very important it is to basically be perpetually active. I think it has to be a mindset that you will use your body every day. And I do know that some of that is pure genetic luck. )

8 Likes
10

Exactly what I said. The data may be collected, but then it’s ignored. Not acted upon. Dismissed.

My initial thoughts were to these boards specifically, but the more I thought about it, the more I see it as a wide spread phenomena in the US and much of the developed world.

—Peter

1 Like
11

“A specialist knows more and more about less and less. An expert knows everything about nothing.” This is the fundamental problem with medical practice as explained by Dr. Casey Means. It’s not a conspiracy theory, it’s the evolution of scientific reductionism, the belief that drilling down is the way to find the truth. Reductionism works well with physical sciences but not so with biological sciences where the holistic approach is better suited.

Dr. Casey Means also explains how a single cause, metabolic dysfunction or insulin resistance, can manifest itself in so many different diseases. It depends on which type of cells become damaged. The reductionist medical practice prevented the recognition of this phenomenon.

Some time stamps:

How did we get here? (8:52)
The fundamental problem with medical practice

Everything is connected (11:42)
Root cause: metabolic dysfunction, insulin resistance, how our cells power themselves

Why so many different diseases? (15:12)
Depends on which cells types are damaged

What every person can do (44:10)

The Captain

wishes the presenter didn’t interrupt so often.

6 Likes
12

“Holistic” is a cliche. If all that is sold is snake oil it can be hazardous to your health. You can go untreated or worse.

During the pandemic one of my sisters and I got into Noom. She lost 28 pounds and I lost 50. She was thin. I was ultra-successful. Her BP no longer spiked. My sugar, cholesterol, and BP were in fantastic shape.

Between us, we saved the cost of a house each in medical bills later in life.

She has gained back 4 pounds. I have gained back 7 as of this writing. I could say I briefly was down 55 pounds and have gained back 12.

It takes a combination of things to lose weight. One of the biggest is discipline over time.

On Tuesday this week, I did 90 minutes of exercise. Yoga for 60 and core for 30.

This week in particular has been very tiring. I am putting myself under pressure to work on marketing my art. I am sleeping well but not getting into bed till late. I am tired. It is something I can not do as I age.

At work, we have a very long corridor with offices. The bathrooms and cafeteria are at opposite ends. I am the third oldest person in the office. I walk faster than any of them. I have had a 20-year-old intern ask me to slow down for him. I have bosses who imagine I get to work faster than the rest of the crew.

My dad was the fastest walker I knew up to age 79. Dad retired at age 82. Mom and Dad, 84 and 85 respectively, nap between 2 pm and 4 pm every day and sleep at least 8 hours a night. They have none of the problems in the article.

I have a moderately high CAC score but no heart or arterial disease. I have zero plaque which is what matters. I have excellent BP, sugar, and cholesterol numbers but keep on Metformin and Rosuvastatin, minor doses.

One thing I am going to do is switch my oils when I can to coconut oil. The reason is to get the omega 3.

1 Like
13

It’s a lot earlier than that, Wendy. T2D and Its consequences is becoming more prevalent in pre teens!

2 Likes
14

Latest thing near sightedness is much more common. Children need to get out in the sun and play. If the kids look at screens all day the eye strain damages their eyesight.

15

Yes, get those cataracts growing!
/sarcasm

Steve

2 Likes
16

That is probably why I have cataracts occurring early.

I did not know the why.

17

That is probably why I have cataracts occurring early.

Exposure to UV has been known to cause cataracts for quite a while. Rampant development of cataracts was proposed as one of the side effects of destruction of the ozone layer decades ago.

2 Likes
18

Not just cataracts. Brother and I both spent as much time as we could spare from 6 years old up to the present mountaineering hunting fishing and skiing in high altitudes (9000 - 14000 ft) of California’s Sierra Nevada. We both now suffer from a weird form of macular wrinkling or “pucker”

It really sucks, and there is increasing evidence that not wearing eye protection at high altitudes is very very bad.

Sigh.

d fb

4 Likes
19

I had a vitrectomy about five years ago. The surgery itself is an easy one-hour procedure with a rather psychedelic light show. The hardest part is the recovery, because they inject a small bubble of inert gas into the eye to maintain pressure on the retina for smoothness. They want the head looking down, and the human body is not meant to be bent over for long periods.

You’ll also have cataract surgery a year later…

DB2

3 Likes