Association of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome with blinding eye diseases: insights from a UK Biobank cohort analysis.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome's overall impact on major blinding eye diseases remains unclear. METHODS: We included participants from the UK Biobank. Baseline CKM syndrome at study entry was classified into five stages according to the American Heart Association criteria. We calculated the absolute incidence rates of cataract, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) across CKM stages. The associations between CKM syndrome and these eye diseases were examined using Cox proportional hazards models, with further sensitivity and subgroup analyses conducted to assess robustness. RESULTS: During more than 10 years of follow-up, 50,894 cataract events, 11,518 glaucoma events, and 8708 AMD events were documented. The absolute incidence rates of cataract, glaucoma, and AMD differed across baseline CKM stages, with the highest rates observed at stage 3. Compared with stage 0, stage 3 CKM syndrome demonstrated the largest effect size estimates for cataract (HR 2.25 [95% CI 2.10-2.41]), glaucoma (HR 1.76 [1.51-2.05]), and AMD (HR 2.08 [1.76-2.46]). CONCLUSIONS: Baseline CKM syndrome was closely associated with the risk of major blinding eye diseases.